MYN:  Big record labels are more fucked than Lindsay Lohan passed out on an oil rig.  They know it and their actions (spending millions fighting proliferation of new technology) speak louder than words.  They find one band that is successful and then rush to put out a dozen clones to cash in.  Honestly, can you tell the difference between most of the bands out there these days?  New Media’s tremendous groundswell is happening because there are a growing number of people out there who want more choice beyond the cookie-cutter bullshit we’re being force-fed by Big Media.  Let me ask you something:  Do you see any direct correlation between the fact that record labels sign fewer new artists and their continually falling profits?  It would seem that if the strategy of putting your eggs in fewer baskets and depending on your mega-stars to turn your financial woes around was going to work, it would have done so by now.  We live in an age where any band, good or bad, can have their music up on iTunes next to Justin Timberlake, Toby Keith or The Who and any kid with a buck and a modicum of interest can buy their music.  In this way, iTunes is a more powerful force in shaping music than any major label.


Let’s digress. Talk to me about ‘Where’s My Fucking Latte?’

MYN:  I was a Hollywood assistant to a very, very successful TV composer for three years before becoming the VP of his company and running all the day-to-day operations and finances.  Before that, I dated a TV studio exec for a couple of years.  During this time, I met a ton of other assistants, some who were working with some of the biggest names in entertainment.  Everybody had a story about the job that would make your jaw drop.  I was driving down to the office in Venice one day and the idea came to me to compile a book’s-worth of these stories.  I started making phone calls and sending emails.  Very quickly, I realized the only way I’d get anybody to talk on the record was if I promised never to divulge their names or the names of the famous people they worked for.  Instead, you’ll find chapters like ‘The Lit Agent’, or ‘The Extremely Famous Actress’.  Countless coffees, beers and dinners later, I’d coaxed enough stories out of enough Hollywood assistants to fill a book with some of the craziest shit you can imagine.  You can’t make this stuff up.


At best, you’re bemused by the industry you participate in while seeming to foster a quiet loathing for Tinseltown.

MYN:  Oh, not at all.  Apart from the traffic, the infantile behaviour, the shallowness, the smog, the crime, the earthquakes and the lack of good pizza, it’s fucking amazing.

As someone who is actively creating inroads with New Media Entertainment, what effects do you see the proliferation of audiobooks and podshows having on the future of the entertainment industry?

MYN:  We wouldn’t be experiencing the explosive growth in New Media if it weren’t for the fact that people are looking for more choices in entertainment.  What we’re seeing is the growing desire for the mobilization of content.  Entertainment-to-go, when you want it, where you want it.  Cell phones, iPods, home computers…  Internet video is the new daytime TV.  Nobody works anymore, they just sit in their cubicles listening to podcasts and watching YouTube.  Television networks have had big success putting entire episodes of their most popular shows on their websites and have found new audiences for their struggling shows.  NBC’s The Office was considered a show in trouble until it showed up as a paid download on iTunes.  The Internet represents a new revenue stream for entertainment by monetizing content through paid downloads and sponsorship but major media has barely a clue how to capitalize on it.  What this means is that until that day comes, independent media has a tremendous window of opportunity to find an audience.  In the case of audiobooks, millions of people around the world pay a lot of money to consume them.  And now, they’re starting to discover that there’s a lot of high-quality content out there they can get for free.


Let’s talk about some of your more recent projects. Your audiobook series, Shadow Falls and Number One With A Bullet have been successes.  In the context of these two hits, what gets (and keeps) listeners in a world that until now, has been geared to viewers?

MYN:  Three words:  tension and release.  Keep the reader desperately wanting to know what happens next.  I try very much to approach the creation of each chapter/episode of a serialized story in the same way you would if you were writing an episode of TV.  Each has its own mini dramatic arc so I like to think each one is as satisfying an experience as watching your favourite TV show.  Keeping people interested is all about doling out the suspense… and a wicked cliffhanger at the end of each episode doesn’t hurt either.


It’s no secret that you always seem to have several pokers in the fire. Anything glowing orange?

MYN:  Shadow Falls: Badlands will be coming out in print in 2008, as will Number One With A Bullet. I’ve also just been given the opportunity to launch Podshow’s print publication division and audiobook channel, Podshow Press.  As editor-in-chief, I’ll be signing new authors to book deals as well as taking the best audiobook content that is exclusive to the Podshow Network, publishing it and distributing it worldwide.  This is going to be a tremendous opportunity for writers everywhere to grow and get serious consideration to be published. Also, look for my latest pod-novel, Diary of a Madman, and my upcoming kids adventure story, Transistor Rodeo.


Any Yoda-esque words of wisdom for the aspiring podcasters out there? 

MYN: Commit yourself mentally 100 per cent to your project. People respond to passion and will be able to tell instantly if you’re just daytripping. When you believe in what you’re doing, you’ll find others will as well. Also, do it because you love doing it, not because you think it will be a way out of your day job. Everything takes time. Lots of time. Especially building an audience and a path toward monetization.  Be unique. Play music you like. Stop using the built in mic on your computer. It sounds like shit. And lastly, stop calling it podcasting. The term has done more to pigeonhole the medium than anything else. It’s Internet Video. Tell them you have a show and give them the link. They’ll figure it out.