What if the biggest roadblock in music licensing wasn’t legal complexity, but outdated systems? In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, we dive deep into the wild world of music rights with Grayson Sanders, CEO of Chordal. A former film composer turned tech founder, Grayson reveals how his sync clearing platform is transforming the way music gets licensed, making it faster, easier, and smarter. We explore the landmark TikTok deal, the rise of AI-generated music, and how real artists can survive and thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Discover why most music still isn’t being licensed legally
• How Chordal’s Instant Clear tech simplifies sync for brands
• Why AI music won’t kill real musicians, but will shake up the library world
• Grayson’s wild journey from composer to startup founder
• What TikTok’s music policy means for creators and brands
• The licensing bottleneck no one talks about
• Why music licensing is still stuck in the 1990s
• What collaborative rights management really means
• The surprising future of royalty-free music
• Why human connection still beats perfect AI audio

BEST MOMENTS
00:01:58. “It all boils down to this concept that we came up with called collaborative rights management.”
00:03:27. “So that eventually when a licensee comes, they have everyone in one place.”
00:05:59. “We're most interested in... the middle and the bottom. That's the piece that is maybe expanding the pie.”
00:07:36. “This technology can come in here and do the work of potentially hundreds of clearance people.”
00:10:25. “Sync is so dynamic and nuanced... you're pairing one piece of art with another.”
00:13:29. “TikTok had been experiencing a lot of infringement on their platform.”
00:19:07. “It's going to actually add more value to authentic, artist-produced music.”
00:32:09. “You look back and you realize you're already halfway up that hill.”

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