Studio Update – August 12, 2026 From Ryder Mason – Riffuge Studios, Dallas
Hey all,
I guess you’ve noticed the major changes and shifts around here. Some were intentional. Some weren’t. Sometimes life just sucks big. Here’s the low-down.
Riffuge Studio Denver has become its own entity — at least on paper and in the working relationship. My sister Lily and her husband Vincent Krell have stepped back from the overall joint efforts. They pulled groups, funding, and contracts away from the main operation, and rightly so. Vincent funded a lot of what happened on both sides. After some back-and-forth — words that were harsh and words that were loving — we mutually decided it was best to part ways on paper.
We’ve had to pull all of our music from distribution while we work through the legal side of things. The groups we were carrying are affected the same way. I want to be clear: we are all good now. Everyone involved feels this is the healthiest move for the long term.
Riffuge Denver will continue operating as Riffuge Studio Productions, just under a separate legal entity for paperwork purposes. We are still connected. After the nerves settled and the egos got put back in the box, we structured it like this: Riffuge Denver owns 45% of Riffuge Dallas, and Riffuge Dallas owns 45% of Riffuge Denver. Think of it as splitting up but still married and still supporting each other. It just makes the profit-sharing and division cleaner on paper.
Full disclosure moment: Ghost Riff Riders has been grossing more than all the other groups we were supporting and representing combined. Vincent and the Denver side were carrying a lot of the actual bills for both locations. When it came time to settle the monthly profit and loss, a big portion of what paid those bills (and paid Vincent back) was coming from GRR’s income. We were happy to do that in the beginning — we started Riffuge on our own dime and believed in the bigger picture. Denver was built largely on Vincent’s (and the Prybirds’) dime, and together we carried a lot of new artists and overhead. But that model doesn’t work long-term for either side. GRR wasn’t generating the individual income it should have been once everything was split out.
Then Sam took his long-term leave to recoup and spend time with Vera and their new baby. They wanted access to the group profit-share income they were rightfully owed on paper. That money was tied up deep in the shared structure. They needed it — house, car, real life. That situation forced the conversation we probably should have had sooner.
So this new division is now in place. Our music is temporarily offline from the major distributors while the dust settles and the ink dries. It will go back up as soon as everything is clean. In the meantime, you can still find and support the music directly through the store right here on the site.
Thank you for your patience and understanding while we get through this transition. We’re still here. We’re still working. And we’ll come out the other side cleaner and stronger.
Rock on, Ryder Mason