Breaking Hard Rock and Metal Bands with Sumerian Records
From The New Music Business with Ari Herstand by Ari's Take
May 27, 2026 · 1h 5m · Season 7 · Episode 11
About this episode
Ari interviews Ash Avildsen about building Sumerian Records and the evolution of the music industry.
This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Ash Avildsen, founder of Sumerian Records. Ash shares the story of building one of the most influential independent labels in modern rock and metal, from booking DIY tours in the MySpace era to helping artists break into arenas. During this episode, Ari and Ash dive into artist development, the evolution of touring, music video economics, social media virality, the ethics of tour buy-ons, and why building an artist brand matters more than ever. Ash also opens up about expanding Sumerian into film, the future of entertainment brands, and why he believes music videos deserve a better business model. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumerianrecords/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sumerianrecords Check out Ari’s Take: https://aristake.com 04:21 - Ash’s Journey from Touring Musician to Founding Sumerian Records 08:04 - Why Ash Left Booking to Focus Fully on the Label 12:00 - MySpace, TikTok, and How Artists Break Today 17:30 - Scenes, Community, and the Evolution of Heavy Music 22:16 - Artist Development and Getting Bands to Their First 500 Tickets 25:22 - The Ethics and Reality of Tour Buy-Ons 31:49 - Discovering…
People in this episode
Host: Ari Herstand
Guest: Ash Avildsen
Topics covered
- artist development
- music industry
- touring
- heavy music
- music videos
- entertainment brands
Keywords
- hard rock
- metal
- independent label
- tour buy-ons
- social media
- artist brand
- music video economics
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Sumerian Records, MySpace, TikTok, Ari’s Take, Brassroots District
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