The Glaucoma Surgeon Who Built a Stoner Rock Empire | Todd Severin, CEO of Ripple Music

What does it take to run a global heavy rock label — while also performing eye surgery? Todd Severin, CEO of Ripple Music and author of Deadly Vision, joins The Sonic Road to tell one of the most unlikely stories in the history of independent music. 🎸 Full episode out now → https://linktr.ee/thesonicroad ───────────────────────────── IN THIS CLIP: ───────────────────────────── ✦ How Ripple Music evolved from a review blog to a leader in stoner rock, doom, and heavy psych ✦ The vinyl boom in 2026 — navigating a booming market as an independent label ✦ The "Love & Affection" contract clause and what artist-first deal-making really looks like ✦ Why Todd has never taken a paycheck from Ripple Music — and how the label survives on passion ✦ The 30-year road to publishing Deadly Vision — a medical thriller where VR, AI, and political corruption collide ✦ How his life as an ophthalmologist informs the world of the "Virtual Heart Project" ───────────────────────────── SHOW CHAPTERS ───────────────────────────── 00:00 Reissuing a Cleveland Classic 00:10 Music as Escape: A Turbulent Childhood 00:50 Starting a Label in Chaos: Unpredictable Revenue 01:04 Vinyl Boom & Swifties: The 2026 Landscape 01:24 Collecting First Pressings: Kill 'Em All Lore