The Work Podcast kicks off with James Blake's Instagram post calling out major labels and detailing his independent journey 00:03. The crew unpacks the reality of major label deals, from how money actually moves in the industry to why labels prioritize short-term virality over long-term artist success 05:00. Is the major label model collapsing, or are artists just waking up? The conversation shifts to alternative artist funding platforms like Indify 10:00 and whether they truly empower independent artists or just offer a new form of gatekeeping. Are artists looking for investors or real marketing? The debate gets deeper as the team explores the pros and cons of direct-to-fan platforms and whether the next generation of artists can truly thrive without label backing 16:00. Later, the team dissects Amazon's new AI music deal with Suno 49:22, a move that could change music forever. Is AI-generated music an opportunity, or is it about to replace human creativity? The debate heats up as they connect this moment to Napster, Netflix, and how tech keeps disrupting industries while creatives struggle to adapt 52:33. At 01:20:00, the hosts introduce themselves and share their journeys in the music industry. Melanie, originally from Chicago, came up during the blog era, discovering independent artists before they became household names. She built a career in artist management, A&R, playlist curation, and experiential marketing, working with brands like Budweiser and major DSPs. She also founded Blurred Lines, a tastemaker community that connects playlist curators, A&Rs, and event producers worldwide. Mike is the son of two immigrant musicians and grew up surrounded by music. He initially rebelled against it but eventually found his way back through DJing, rave culture, and a deep interest in music business and licensing. After working at Warner during the ringtone era, he moved into digital strategy and rights management at SoundCloud, later expanding into AI, voice technology, and music startups. Donny started as a music video director in high school during the blog era, working with artists like Wiz Khalifa, 21 Savage, and Lil Yachty. After stepping away from music to launch a content marketing agency, he returned to start his own record label, eventually partnering with SoundCloud on an innovative deal. This led him to co-found Rollout, a platform designed to build better tools for artist teams and managers. Sabrina began as a college DJ, which led her to artist management. After working at Universal and UnitedMasters, she played a key role in breaking an artist who quickly went viral, pulling in 1 million streams per day. After two and a half years, she left to start Childish, a company focused on artist management, content creation, and creative direction, which eventually led her to Rollout and The Work Podcast. All that, plus who's actually fighting for artist rights, why tech companies profit while artists stay broke, and how the biggest artists in the world could flip the industry overnight—if they actually wanted to 1:30:12.

In this episode, Melanie McClain (Founder of Blurred Lines, DSP Music Programming) Michael Pelczynski (Co-Founder Voice-Swap and EVP Rostrum Pacific, Sabrina Kalimian (artist manager & founder of Childish), and Donny Slater (GM, Third + Hayden and Co-Founder, ROLLOUT)