This episode features Simon Tam of The Slants and Prof. Erik Nielson, co-author of “Rap on Trial,” who both have been instrumental in combating First Amendment right violations against minority musicians. Simon’s fight to get his all-Asian band the right to their name saw thousands of pages of evidence denied, along with a footnote stating that – had they been Caucasian – there’d be no issue. Erik has researched how the Rap genre is singled out, identifying 800+ documented legal cases using Rap lyrics as evidence against young men of color. Hear from the pair on the results of their efforts, along with their concerns about freedom of speech in general.

When listening to music brings so much joy, working with it every day should feel just as rewarding. In an industry that reflects our broader world, fear-based, ego-driven leadership is slowly being replaced with a culture of empowerment, seeing women and POC in more supervisory roles – though we still have a ways to go. Companies like Downtown drive this change with women holding a variety of leadership roles like Sarah Landy, SVP, Americas at Downtown-company, FUGA. She joins us on the podcast to discuss the role language and communication play in making employees feel valued, how encouragement of collective success drives better outputs, and more leadership insights!

When Music Ally COO Patrick Ross was looking for hotspots to show a Nordic delegation he was hosting in his hometown of Atlanta, the name Patchwerk Studios – a Black-founded studio with more than 30 years worth of gold & platinum records under its belt – came up often. From there, he met Studio Manager Osman Bangura. With Music Biz 2026 taking place in Patchwerk’s home of Atlanta next month, the duo joined us to speak on the studio’s history, owner Curtis Daniel III’s integral role in helping Atlanta evolve from a music-making city to a music business city by democratizing education, and the new pathways the studio has opened for Atlanta natives.

In an age where musicians are expected to meticulously audit their music data themselves to ensure money isn’t being left on the table, it is inevitable that something will get missed. Notes.FM is designed to lift this weight off of artists’ shoulders, having already found missing money for a total of 94% of their users – with the first artist that they claimed money for receiving $75,000 from The MLC. In this episode, Notes.FM founder Tim Luckow discusses his industry journey, goals for the platform, and more!

In an age where listeners can access any track at their fingertips, finding ways for artists to connect with superfans requires a creative approach – and Musicow has delivered exactly that. Originating in Korea, with the K-pop market already known for cultivating successful fan engagement strategies, the platform allows for fans to financially invest in the music they love. In this episode, Musicow US, IP CEO Marcus Sanchez explains the logistics behind the platform and how it differs from its Korean counterpart, plans for their “Fandom” project – which is already seeing success in its beta release of the track “Two Car Garage” by Jon Bellion and Swae Lee, and more!

Having noticed how difficult it was to obtain catalog info during his time at Hipgnosis Songs, Björn Lindvall set out to create a solution with MusicInfra, providing a scaled infrastructure that ensures works are accurately matched to recordings. Now, in an age where AI is generating more data than ever, such infrastructure has become even more crucial for rights management. In this episode, Björn speaks on the two products that the platform offers, how he is planning for this first generation of AI deals & new rights types, and more!

Music rights company Chordal has achieved a major licensing milestone, clearing 51,000 songs in the first six months of their InstantClear technology being live. In their TikTok’s commercial library integration alone, over 15% of those tracks already saw sync revenue. To achieve this success, they’ve leveraged the collaborative nature of the music industry to create a single environment where stakeholders can easily connect with one another through the songs they share rights on. In this conversation, Chordal Co-Founder & CEO Grayson Sanders explains how the platform works, the UGC issues that they are helping to mitigate through their TikTok partnership, and more!

Global artists and genres are no longer region-locked, having seen astronomical growth in recent years thanks to the age of digital connectivity. Recently, Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl appearance – combined with the rise of other Latin artists from all different regions such as Chris MJ and Groupo Frontera – have further bolstered the visibility of Latin genres. This special episode features interviews with Emilio Morales & Christopher Hernández of Bad Bunny’s publisher, Rimas Publishing, and Joaquín Fernández Esquivel of Latin marketing agency Chinelo Creative. Both conversations touch on specific examples of how culture & genre spread globally, advice for today's artists, marketing insights, and more!

Link to the article by Kevin Kelly, cited by Joaquín: https://bit.ly/4lu7vxr

In celebration of Symphonic Distribution's 20th anniversary under the leadership of Jorge Brea & Janette Berrios, we bring you a special episode of The Future of What featuring the couple alongside our host Portia & her husband Slim Moon! The pairs discuss how they met their partners, as well as the origins of both Symphonic and Kill Rock Stars, touching on the opportunities & challenges of working in the same industry and workplace as your spouse. Jorge & Janette also speak on Symphonic's growth in the Latin market, the company’s emphasis on education, and keeping up with new technologies such as AI.

Songtradr was founded by artist & producer Paul Wiltshire as a solution for independent artists to upload their own tracks to be licensed all in one place, in response to him facing these struggles in his own career. Since then, the platform has expanded and tailored its strategy to the complexity of the music business by acquiring companies like 7digital, Big Sync, MassiveMusic and Bandcamp. In this episode, Songtradr CRO Paul Langworthy breaks down some of these industry complexities, touching on fragmentation, how connection doesn’t always require transparency, the looming threat of licensing infringement, and the importance of paying attention to new market players.