
Scoring for Impact: Music in "The Alabama Solution" and "Power Force"
From SoundBreaker by Bob Shami
December 12, 2025 · 49 min · Episode 131
About this episode
Bob Shami interviews composers Mark Batson and Chris Hanebutt about their impactful music work and the evolving music industry.
Welcome to Soundbreaker! In this compelling episode, host Bob Shami sits down with award-winning composers and producers Mark Batson and Chris Hanebutt. These two incredible talents, hailing from Brooklyn and South Carolina respectively, share their unique journeys into the music industry, from early piano lessons and barbershop quartets to collaborating with music legends like Dr. Dre, Eminem, 50 Cent, and Alicia Keys. Mark and Chris dive deep into their recent impactful work, discussing their powerful score for "The Alabama Solution," an HBO documentary exposing civil rights injustices and a modern-day slavery system within Alabama prisons. They also chat about their adrenaline-pumping contributions to the latest season of "Power Book Force" on Starz. The conversation takes a critical turn as they explore the evolving landscape of the music business. From the challenges artists face with streaming royalties and the rise of AI in music creation, to the importance of intellectual property and the potential of Web3 and blockchain technologies (like NFHits) to empower artists and ensure fair compensation. They offer invaluable advice to young artists and entrepreneurs, emphasizing…
People in this episode
Host: Bob Shami
Guests: Mark Batson, Chris Hanebutt
Topics covered
- music composition
- civil rights
- streaming royalties
- AI in music
- intellectual property
- Web3
- artist empowerment
Keywords
- music industry
- composers
- HBO documentary
- Power Book Force
- AI music
- streaming
- artist rights
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: HBO, Starz
Books & works: The Alabama Solution, Power Book Force
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