John McBride, esteemed audio engineer and owner of Blackbird Studio, chatted about his new streaming platform “Inside Blackbird” and the Blackbird Academy.
He is also the husband of Grand Ole Opry member and country megastar Martina McBride, who is affectionately known as the “Queen of Modern Country Music.” In the ’90s, John worked for Garth Brooks’ sound crew as his sound engineer.
John McBride: Owner of Blackbird Studio
He opened Blackbird Studio in Nashville in 2002, and it quickly became a favorite of artists, musicians, producers and engineers worldwide.
The diverse group of musical acts that have recorded here include Kings of Leon, Queen, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Garth Brooks, Buddy Guy, Yelawolf, Alison Krauss, and Keith Urban, among others.
With “Inside Blackbird,” his mission is to make music education more easily accessible to the public.
‘Inside Blackbird’ platform
A Nashville-based recording studio, Blackbird announced the launch of “Inside Blackbird,” a new streaming subscription platform. It features a curated selection of exclusive interviews and educational content from the best producers, musicians and audio engineers in the globe.
The highly-anticipated network will take people deep inside the process of recording, producing, creating and songwriting as well as live sound and production. It is designed with everyone in mind, from complete beginners to control room gurus.
“When you own a studio, you need to find any way to help create income aside from booking a room, which is the hardest part,” McBride said. “Everything I’ve done, starting the school, and now ‘Inside Blackbird’ all centers that studio, and I love this place. I will never retire especially since some of the greatest memories of my life were made here.”
“These days, you realize, that everyone wants more access to behind-the-scenes footage in music, on the road and in the studio. I thought I have good access to artists, gears, rooms, and recording,” he said.
“Finally, we are giving people the access to see the whole process from writing a song to pressing a vinyl. We also cover aspects of live touring. We will never run out of videos and content because there is so much going on,” he elaborated.
“We are having a great time, and I feel we are creating a historical document. It’s a great feeling knowing that we are capturing this footage on a regular basis,” he added.
McBride shared that his goal is to make music education more accessible and equitable to anybody that wants to learn.
A variety of lessons on many facets of the music business
The lessons offered on “Inside Blackbird” cover a variety of topics across audio engineering, music production, recording, songwriting, mastering and live audio, each taught by a seasoned professional renowned in their field providing unique insights and real-world experience to subscribers looking to expand their skill sets and learn from the best in the business.
In addition, there are in-depth tutorials on live sound which include motors, rigging, power distribution, consoles, monitor engineering, and wireless audio, among others.
Helping the charitable organization Save the Music
In addition, “Inside Blackbird” is partnering with Save the Music by donating a portion of each subscription to the nonprofit organization.
Save the Music helps students, schools and communities reach their full potential through the power of making music. By advocating for music education, donating instruments and providing support services for teachers, Save the Music has become one of the nation’s largest nonprofits for music education.
The digital age
On being a part of the digital age in music, McBride said, “I’m a computer immigrant, I will never be a native. My kids are natives, not me. In regard to social media, I don’t really have any clue what makes social media so effective.”
“Fortunately, I can hire younger people than me, and we start trying to keep up with everything that is going on in the world today, and the way things are done,” he said.
“People are interested because it’s an interesting subject. We get to work around music, and music has the power to change the world. So, there are a lot of people that are huge music fans, like me. The more I learn — and I never stop learning — the more I appreciate a great song, recording, performance, and concert. We film a lot about all those things, and it has been a blast so far, even though it has been a lot of work,” he elaborated.
He is thrilled with the recent resurgence of vinyl. “I can’t begin to tell you how happy that makes me,” McBride. “Pressing vinyl is an art.”
The Blackbird Academy
In 2013, John and Martina McBride opened The Blackbird Academy, which is dedicated to advancing the quality of recording education through a hands-on, professional training curriculum.
Many of the Blackbird Academy students have gone on to have successful careers in the recording industry and include Grammy Award winners.
He shared that the Blackbird Academy is “going great.” “The older I get, the more important the Academy becomes. We are creating and helping kids start new careers. When you see the light come on in their eyes, that is one of the best feelings you can ever imagine. We already have had four Grammy winners and we are not even 10 years old yet. I am really proud of these graduates that come out of the Academy, and they are working,” he said.
“We have two programs at the school: Live Engineering and Studio Engineering. Ironically enough, more people signed up for Studio Engineering. 95 percent of the Live Engineering students get jobs almost immediately. There is a huge demand for Live Engineering sound people,” he said.
“What I stress about more than anything that is attitude is 99 percent of the gig, and it is,” he said. “Great gets all of our attention, good doesn’t all of our attention. As I always say, good is the enemy of great. I tell the Blackbird students that we are not successful unless they are successful, and at the end of the day, that’s the truth.”
“Thank God, we are still making records, and the school is teaching away. I look at ‘Inside Blackbird’ as a good way to learn enough to be inspired to pursue music for a living,” he added.
Martina McBride: A force of nature
He praised his country superstar wife Martina McBride for being a true force of nature. “My wife, Martina, never stops being creative,” he said. “Martina is just such a great person, a great artist, and she does things that blow me away all the time… it’s just ridiculous.”
“Her ears are amazing… she can walk in and in eight seconds, she can tell you everything about a song,” he admitted. “I haven’t won an argument with her in years, and years, and it’s crazy,” he said with a sweet laugh.
“I love her so much. I would put her talent up against anyone in any genre at any time. That’s how good Martina is,” he added.
In their personal lives, John and Martina will be celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary on May 15.
‘The Judds: The Final Tour’
Martina McBride recently opened for Wynonna Judd on “The Judds: The Final Tour,” and she was also a part of the main show with Wynonna.
“We had the greatest time on The Judds’ final tour,” he admitted. “We really did. Wynonna brought a bunch of different guests. Martina opened every show and would also perform with Wynonna during the show. Wynonna had great guests like Brandi Carlile, Faith Hill, Little Big Town, and Trisha Yearwood, and we just had the greatest time. It felt like it was a family traveling around and playing music.”
Martina’s own 2023 tour dates
He is also looking forward to Martina McBride solo tour dates for 2023. “Honestly, I love touring. I love it, I love it, I love it, and while being out on the road, you also get to find out where all the good food is. You are getting paid to be a tourist in a way.”
“I love sound, music, and audio so much… at the end of the day, they are actually paying me for this. That’s actually crazy because I have the best day ever. That’s the power of music, it will take over,” he added.
Closing thoughts on ‘Inside Blackbird’
“Anyone with an interest or curiosity about music will benefit from Inside Blackbird,” McBride said. “People can learn more about musical instruments, gear, plugins, the recording process and live touring from the best in the business. They can also discover how artists start their careers and what it takes to succeed. If we don’t have an answer, we know someone who does, and that is who you will find at Inside Blackbird.”
