Join the Music Tectonics team for the June Seismic Activity with special guest Andrew Kahn, Managing Partner of Yamaha Music Innovation Fund. Hear Andrews best practices for pitching him (or not) at a conference, and what he feels is the most important aspect of any pitch deck. Hint: It's not a great power point. We also hear queries specific to founders in attendance. Among them are questions about funding AI startups, is it possible to compete with Ticketmaster, and what about this innovative new musical instrument? Really great insight from the heart of the funding world. 

The News!

The most important chart in music right now?

Getting AI companies to agree to licensing deals with copyright owners is “not doable” and “China’s not doing it”, rambles Trump

Live Music News: GigSalad, Lightroom, new boards @ MVT, LIVE

The Death of the Middle-Class Musician

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! 

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Remember when Michael Bublé was an abominable snowman and chased people with snowballs? Well, maybe you don’t, but a lot of people do. Or what about when NLE Choppa showed up in FPS Ops? In this episode Dmitri talks with Mike Gubman of Chartis about the creative collaborations between musicians and game developers and what sort of opportunities those collabs create. Also, the News! 

SiriusXM is launching a paid ad-supported tier. Will music streamers follow suit?

If your music strategy is ‘quick hits’ on the US charts in 2025… good luck.

Concert ticket prices increased 80.5% in 3 years, 4X inflation

HITS Act becomes law in a Big Win For Independent Artists

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! 

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Today we have a fascinating conversation with Randy Nichols, artist manager and CEO of Force Media Management. Randy’s been at the forefront of attempting to figure out the ticketing strategy math, especially the scalper side of the equation. We hear about his dive into the cold hard data, scalper chat rooms, and that time he sent someone undercover to the Ticket Scalpers Convention. We also talk about the allure of the “super fan” and why that is… baloney. Also we get into merch, and the general state of live music today. 

News!

YouTube to demonetize AI-generated videos starting July 15

Why fandom’s ‘more is more’ era could backfire

YouTube’s ‘Ask Studio’ feature adds AI insight to its analytics

Report: Threads is closing in on X’s daily active users total

Shoutouts!

Immensity_AI

Klaviyo

Openstage

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! 

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Today we talk with Cullen Hendrix, Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, about the impact of tariffs on musical instruments. A trained political scientist as well as having a background as a touring musician, Hendrix has a really distinctive lens in which to view the tariff news. We talk about how tariffs on Chinese imports could stifle the next generation of musicians, the potential consequences for the used instrument market, and the effects on American culture as a whole. 

News!

The Velvet Sundown is an AI band after all, with its music created on Suno, confesses a spokesperson

AI in disguise? Music lovers angry at Spotify for promoting an allegedly fake band

Can the music industry make AI the next Napster?

Cloudflare launches a marketplace that lets websites charge AI bots for scraping

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! 

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Join us today as we talk with Jessica Sobhraj, the co-founder and CEO of Cosynd; a platform that helps creators protect their copyrights. We start by talking about the complex legal maneuvers involving the US Copyright Office; we then head into the ongoing impact of AI and the proactive steps you should take to safeguard your intellectual property. 

But first, the news! 

Anthropic Scores Major Fair Use Win in Authors’ Infringement Suit: ‘Using Copyrighted Works to Train LLMs to Generate New Text Was Quintessentially Transformative’

Affordances in the brain: The human superpower AI hasn’t mastered

Deezer Exec Says ‘There’s No Going Back’ on AI Music: ‘The Industry Will Need to Make a Decision’

The music industry is building the tech to hunt down AI songs

Shoutouts mentioned

5 Calls

Sureel

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! 

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On today's episode we talk with Bomo Piri, Chief Brand Officer at Native Instruments. Our conversation begins with the techno Berlin roots of the brand and dives into what’s happening today with their strategic partnerships -- like the London based Young Urban Artist Foundation, and a very cool sounding recent collab with Mustard at Coachella. We chat about Bomo's unique marketing approach as well as the importance of authentic community engagement, and how they see that as a throughline to most of their marketing efforts.

The News!

US music publishing revenue jumped 13.4% to $7bn in 2024, outpacing the growth rate of recorded music

PlayStation’s concert series is coming to the US

UMG JV with investment firm WTSL focuses on ‘artist-led IP’

Sony Music CEO Talks AI: ‘We Are Going to Do Deals for New Music AI Products This Year’

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! 

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On today's podcast we have a truly amazing talk with Damien Riehl, a musician and technology lawyer who is one of the masterminds behind All the Music Project; an algorithmically generated catalogue of 471 billion melodies, which was then put into the public domain in an attempt to protect musicians from being sued for copyright claims. It is a fascinating conversation.

Damien’s Ted Talk here

News!

Gen Z is embracing a digital detox and the ‘Martha Stewart summer’

Apple Intelligence Is Gambling on Privacy as a Killer Feature

The iPhone is your karaoke mic in tvOS 26's Apple Music Sing

Nothing will stand in the way of independents (and why the world’s first three-person indie unicorn is only a matter of time away)

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! 

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”Create a flurry of content.   But do not put $10,000 aside for a celebrity to come in and talk about your brand. I want you to go after thirty smaller creators with followings between ten and thirty thousand.”

Today we hear from Adam McHeffey, the former CMO of Artiphon and current Chief Creative Officer at Rock Paper Scissors to discuss effective strategies for marketing musical instruments. Key points include the significance of IRL networking, the importance of strategic planning, and the role of traditional PR. Adam also provides some very clear step-by-step marketing strategies. This episode is a must for anyone looking to launch a new product or musical instrument.

News!

Events-tech firm Fever raises its latest nine-digit funding round

AI, bot farms and innocent indie victims: how music streaming became a hotbed of fraud and fakery

Do not settle.

AM Radio Mandate is Moving in Congress — But Should It Pair with Performance Royalty Requirements?

‘Ethical’ AI Music Firms React to the Majors’ Suno-Udio Licensing Talks: ‘We Just Get Left Behind’

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! 

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Today we bring you the recording from our latest on-line Seismic Event, “Artist Careers in a Parallel Universe.” It was an exploration into the livelihood of three working artists; Clara Venice, Vivek Agrawal, and The Phronetic. RPS Chief Creative Officer, Adam McHeffey talks with them about how they are using new technology to fuel their creative visions, how they've built brand relationships, and importantly, how they're monetizing their networks. Great insight into how they make it work. Also! stick around for the news.

Seismic Activity Guests

Vivek Agrawal

The Cassette Speaker

The Oasis

Clara Venice

Locket

The Phronetic

Sign up for the next Seismic Activity!

Links to the News

What Is Going On With the Chaos At the Copyright Office?

Fake Podcasts

EU artists generated more than $1.8 billion on Spotify in 2024, up 15% YoY

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! 

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On today’s news roundup show Dmitri and Eleanor tackle the week's music tech news. They discuss Spotify's app store changes, Apple Music's new transfer tool, and so many AI music industry developments, including the $10 million AI music fraud case. 

News you might want to read:

Spotify says App Store changes have boosted its subscriptions

Apple Music’s new transfer tool simplifies switching from other streaming services

Martina McBride Speaks Out Against AI Deepfakes at Senate Hearing: ‘It’s Just Terrifying’

Udio launches mobile app using Apple’s in-app purchases system

OpenAI has hardware ambitions – and a $6.5bn deal to ignite them

‘A Billion Streams and No Fans’: Inside a $10 Million AI Music Fraud Case

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! 

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