Drop The MIC: Music Industry Conversations

From voice memo to release day, emerging artists Jereena Montemayor and Pretty Boy Aaron deep-dive into their creative process, sharing the songs and stories that have shaped their journey to date.

In addition to the obvious necessity of a repertoire of musical talents and skills, an artist will benefit from an arsenal of professionals. Through our conversations with Doug Mark, an entertainment attorney, Liv Seltzer, an artists and repertoire consultant, Miranda Martell, Chief Growth Officer at Quadio Records, and Abir Hossain, VP of Quadio Records we will reveal how these professionals support an artist. 

Success as a songwriter in the music industry requires collaboration. Our guests today will talk about what it looks like when you've found the right people to work with. We’ll be hearing from Gracie and Lawrence Clyde from Lawrence the band, Braxton Cook, Christian Kuria, Zach Fogarty, and Michael Uzowuru. 

Songs included in this episode: 
"Do You Wanna Do Nothing With Me?" and "It's Not All About You" - Lawrence
"Don't Wanna See You" - Braxton Cook
"Too Good" - Christian Kuria
"Power Freaks" - Jean Dawson
"Drift" - Choker
Theme music composed by Charlie Kogen. 

What puts a tour into motion? In this podcast episode, we sat down with live music and touring experts Kaleb Herbel-Eisenmann (Artist Manager at Abstract MGMT), Darius Zelkha (Artist Manager/Marketing Partnerships at Brilliant Corners Artist Management), and Danielle Zucchini (National Marketing Manager for Live Nation) to discuss the mechanics of mid-cap, domestic tours in North America. Tune in to see how a tour is created, from initial planning and marketing, to being on the road, and everything in between.

In this episode, we’re talking with Kyle Frenette, who previously was the long-time manager of the band Bon Iver. Throughout his successful and multi-faceted career in the music industry, Kyle has been involved in many different ventures including artist management, starting a record label to promote the local music scene, and political activism--even running for Congress. We’ll hear Kyle’s take on what the most important skills are for a successful artist manager and how he applied his skills managing Bon Iver to other parts of his career including his latest chapter on empowering musicians to use their platforms to promote impactful causes.

In this episode, we chat with Stanford alum Jose Serrano who manages emerging artists like Emery Kelley and Sybyr and rising artist Heidi Rolph-Statt about the role of streaming platforms in artists' careers. We discuss imbalances in pay, streaming and gender. 

Building a business is hard. Building a business in the music industry is even harder. Artists and managers put their blood, sweat, and tears into their businesses, spending as many as 200 days at a time on the road. On this episode we hear from music industry executives, founders, and innovators telling us how they found their niches, how they built their businesses, and what advice they have for aspiring entrepreneurs hoping to enter the space.

In this episode of Stanford’s Drop the MIC podcast, we hear from A&R professionals spanning over 20 years of music industry history. We have Daouda Leonard, a tried and true vet who was part of the generation that christened the internet age of brand building. Alongside him we have Bekah Flynn, an A&R rep at an indie record label who saw the rise of streaming platforms during her career and has learned when to leverage the numbers, and when to rely on her intuition. Finally, we speak to Sam Kolton, a millennial A&R rep who brings a fresh perspective to her rosters with her mastery of music data and analytics that she sees as the future of the industry. By putting these three perspectives in conversation, we view the artist development world from a vantage point that gives us all the insights into the lifespan and history of A&R. 

Through the anecdotes and experiences of musician Mike Rocha, pianist and coder Dan Tepfer, investor Mike McGinley, and Stanford professor Chris Chafe, we delve into the impact and development of music collaboration technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our guests give us valuable insight into the pandemic’s lasting impact on the music industry.

In this episode, game-changers Roneil Rumburg (Co-Founder and CEO of Audius), Elomida Visviki (Co-Founder and CEO of Weav Music), and Matt Block (Head of Production at Splice and Co-Founder of La Reserve) discuss the new paths they’ve created for artists to interact with fans. From creating equitable platforms for bedroom producers to inventing new technology, they’re redefining the nature of artist and audience.