Rick Beato, born Richard John Beato in 1962, is an American multi-instrumentalist, music producer, and educator who has gained significant recognition as a YouTube personality. With a background as a session musician, songwriter, audio engineer, and record producer since the early 1980s, he has also lectured on music at universities. Beato owns Black Dog Sound Studios in Georgia and has worked with notable bands like Needtobreathe, Parmalee, and Shinedown. His YouTube channel launched in 2015, boasts over 4 million subscribers and features his insightful analyses of rock, jazz, blues, electronic, rap, and pop music, as well as interviews with musicians and producers, establishing him as a prominent voice in online music education and discussion.