Meta’s short-form video surface, Reels, now generates $50 billion in annual run rate. That’s more than some of the largest media companies like Netflix, TikTok, and YouTube’s ad business.

Reels may be less culturally relevant than those companies, and its users spend less time on the platform than others, but it prints money and shows no signs of slowing down.

This episode explores how Meta’s infrastructure made Reels one of the most successful monetization plays in modern tech and what could threaten its momentum next.

CHAPTERS

02:51 Culture vs. Cash

04:30 How Reels Makes Money

06:49 Meta’s Advantage

15:34 Risks Ahead

18:54 What’s Next for Reels

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CHAPTERS

02:45 Global Value of Music: 10 Years in Review

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GUEST

Will Page, former Chief Economist of Spotify and PRS for Music, Author of Pivot

LINKS

Global Value of Music Copyright - Will Page

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Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi have had a big year in 2025, but what are they really? Securities? Derivatives? Sportsbooks? They may be all of the above.

Listen to my breakdown on how these markets have evolved over time, and what led to their current rise today. We then dive into the opportunities, risks, and the regulatory challenges that may shape their future.

CHAPTERS

02:54 The Origin of Prediction Markets

06:43 Polymarket, Kalshi, and Modern Prediction Markets

09:16 Regulation and What’s Next

09:31 Bucket A: Policy, Finance, and Economics

13:36 Bucket B: Sports, Entertainment, and Pop Culture

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Too Lost: empowering artists with tools to manage, distribute, and grow their music independently.

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People say they miss when MTV played music videos, but their viewing habits say otherwise!

We revisited one of our most popular episodes from 2023, but trimmed it down to include the best parts. I’m joined by Zack O’Malley Greenburg to unpack MTV’s rise from a scrappy video platform to a cultural powerhouse. We break down breakthrough moments like Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”, the rise of reality TV, the networks influence, rise, fall, and what’s next?

CHAPTERS

01:04 The Birth of MTV

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beatBread : A music funding platform that empowers independent artists to access advances on their streaming income while keeping 100% ownership of their music.

Splice, a cloud-based music creation platform offering millions of royalty-free samples, plugins (via rent-to-own), and AI-powered tools to inspire creators everywhere

GUEST

Zack O’Malley Greenburg, Author, Empire State of Mind

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We continue our Trapital Summit series with Dan and MiDIA Research’s Tati Cirisano sharing bold predictions from Trapital Summit attendees and sharing their thoughts.

We debate the long-term viability of major record labels, whether a Netflix + Spotify merger make sense (we recorded this before the podcast partnership!), we also discussed whether we’ll return to mass mainstream monoculture, future growth opportunities, and which new opportunities will be unlocked by AI-powered tools.

CHAPTERS

01:47 Future of Major Labels?

03:58 Will Netflix and Spotify Ever Merge?

05:52 A Return to Monoculture?

09:06 Unprecedented Industry Growth?

10:30 Will AI-Driven Labels Be The Future?

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GUEST

Tatiana Cirisano, VP Music Strategy, MIDiA Research

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This episode is in partnership and collaboration with our friends at The Recording Academy

You’ll hear our deep dive on what we can learn from this years Grammys with our usual analysis and a few select guests including: Panos Panay (President of The Recording Academy), Tati Cirisano (MIDiA Research), Zack O’Malley Greenburg, author and investor.

We discuss the biggest takeaways from the 2026 nominations, the rise of international music, how the voting body has evolved, and the economic lift of a Grammy win.

CHAPTERS

01:41 - Biggest takeaways

05:41 - Tati Cirisano joins us

13:02 - Panos Panay joins us

17:10 - Which past Grammys would have changed

21:52 - The Grammy Bump

33:10 - Zack Greenburg joins us

SPONSORS

The Recording Academy

GUESTS

Tatiana Cirisano, VP Music Strategy, MIDiA Research

Zack O’Malley Greenburg, Author, Empire State of Mind

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RESOURCES

At our Trapital Summit, Nathan Hubbard joined me in stage to discuss Firebird Music’s investment thesis, working with Yungblud, and the business of Taylor Swift.

CHAPTERS

04:06 Firebird’s Mission

06:46 Yungblud’s Case Study

14:16 Investing in Management Companies

21:03 Finding New Talent

23:34 Is Taylor Swift the Best CEO in Music?

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Trapital Summit 2025⁠

Every Single Album⁠ Podcast

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We continue our Trapital Summit series with Jason Sklar, a partner at Shamrock Capital, to explore music rights as an asset class, as well as gaming, film, and more. We discuss Shamrock’s perspective, market trends, valuation approaches, the role of AI, and cross-industry opportunities.

02:27 State of Music Rights Investing

09:37 Shamrock’s Investment Approach

16:01 AI, Gaming, and Music

19:39 Why Investing in Film is a B2B Business

20:13 What’s Next for Catalog Deals

This episode is brought to you by SoundCloud for Artists, the all-in-one platform that empowers artists to distribute music, grow their audience, and get paid directly.

From uploads to insights, SoundCloud helps creators take control of their careers.

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We continued our Trapital Summit series with our talk with Udio CEO Andrew Sanchez and MIDiA Research’s Tati Cirisano. AI is rapidly transforming how music is created, distributed, and experienced. You’ll hear them unpack the challenges and opportunities shaping this new era of sound. From redefining creativity to fostering trust between artists and technology, we explore how collaboration, ethics, and innovation can drive a more equitable and inspiring future for the music industry.

03:36 AI Music: Trends and Future

08:11 What Sets Udio Apart

14:06 Trust and Fair Use in AI

21:19 Future Vision and Rapid Fire

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At the Trapital Summit, we were joined by the CEO of VERZUZ, Steve Pamon. His career is all about turning events into big moments, from his time at McKinsey, HBO, NFL, WWE, IMAX, and more. We discussed how major shows scale into franchises, covering team execution, fan value, storytelling, and lessons from Beyoncé, Roger Goodell, and more.

03:50 Story and Execution in Live Events

09:49 Music Industry Challenges

16:23 WWE and IMAX Takeaways

24:02 What’s Next for Verzuz

This episode is brought to you by Laylo, a platform built for artists, creators, and live-event teams that helps turn shows into fandom. Laylo powers drops, tour campaigns, fan lists, SMS & DM outreach, and more to grow engagement and enable deeper connections.

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