Trapital

It's time to dig into the mailbag again. I asked Trapital listeners to send me their most burning questions about the music industry. But this time we’re doing things a bit differently: you’ll be hearing the questions directly from our listeners.

We dug into the TikTok vs. UMGc dispute, children’s entertainment media, and the Beyoncé - Verizon relationship leading to album ‘Act II: Cowboy Carter.”

00:00 UMG vs TikTok 15:17 Kids’ music 19:55 Beyoncé, Verizon, and Cowboy Carter

Make sure you listen in for our new Chartmetric stat of the week!

Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital

Trapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital’s free memo.

2023 was a big year for concert films. Taylor Swift's “Eras Tour” film became the highest grossing concert film of all time with nearly $270M in worldwide box office gross. Beyonce’s Renaissance film grossed over $44M. Was this just a Beyonce and Taylor thing, or will this continue?

In this episode, I’m joined by Jimmy Stone, Founder of Alderbrook Companies, to dive deep into the rise of concert films, the economics behind them, the highest grossing concert films of all time, and so much more.

At the end of our conversation, we also included an audio segment of the guest essay that Jimmy wrote for Trapital: “What Is Driving The Rise Of Concert Films?”

00:00 Why are concert films becoming so popular? 06:50 Transmedia storytelling in music 12:48 The economics of concert films 21:11 Which artist could make a successful concert film in 2024? 31:22 Jimmy’s essay: What Is Driving The Rise Of Concert Films?

Make sure you listen in for our new Chartmetric stat of the week!

Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital

Trapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital’s free memo.

There’s been a lot of discussion (and concern) about the impact of generative AI on music and whether the industry is on the verge of another Napster moment. But according to Jessica Powell, CEO of AudioShake, it’s going to take a lot more than a text prompt to kill music as we know it.

On today’s episode, Jessica and I did a dive deep into the rise of generative music, its actual opportunities, and what it means for the industry moving forward.

At the end of our conversation, we also included an audio version of the essay that Jessica wrote for Trapital: “Is Generative Music Really the Next Napster?”

00:00 Will AI music have a Napster moment?

08:07 The rise of generative music

12:14 Main challenges and opportunities

20:26 Audio essay: “Is Generative Music Really the Next Napster?”

Make sure you listen in for our new Chartmetric stat of the week!

Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital

Trapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital’s free memo.

This episode is about Hollywood's biggest night, the Academy Awards. I’m joined by friend of the pod Zack O'Malley Greenburg to dive deep into the Oscars, how it compares to the Grammys, its relationship with music, the money spent on campaigns, the dramas, the major controversies, and some wild theories.

00:00 The money behind the Oscars

06:30 Why the Grammys gets worse ratings than the Oscars

22:05 What happened to big movie soundtracks?

31:36 Controversies over the years

40:02 Biggest snubs of all time

44:39 How to improve the show

Make sure you listen in for our new Chartmetric stat of the week!

Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital

Trapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital’s free memo.

The late Virgil Abloh’s legacy lives on. From luxury rap to high fashion, his influence changed an entire industry, and several other adjacent ones.

In this episode of Trapital, I’m joined by friend of the pod Zack O'Malley Greenburg. We broke down Virgil’s early years that shaped his future, his relationship with Kanye West, brands like Pyrex Vision, Off-White, his 3% rule, his open-sourced approach to business, his highs, lows, and so much more.

00:00 How Virgil entered the fashion world

07:44 Virgil’s influence on hip-hop and ‘luxury rap’

15:57 Open-source fashion

23:23 The Virgil-Kanye West relationship

27:20 Legacy and controversies

Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital

Trapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital’s free memo.

The rise and fall of the Yeezy brand is a Hollywood screenplay in the making. But this is less like the movie AIR, and more like The Wolf of Wall Street.

To break it all down, I'm joined by Zack O'Malley Greenburg, who covered the Yeezy business through his reporting at Forbes. Together, we explore Kanye West's partnerships with Nike, Adidas, and Gap and the highs and lows along the way.

Make sure you listen in for our new Chartmetric stat of the week!

00:00 Kanye West enters the fashion world

08:52 You don’t have the answer, Sway.

24:56 Yeezy becomes a billion dollar brand

30:28 The downfall

37:04 Yeezy’s independent future

Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital

Trapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital’s free memo.

From gamblers paradise to entertainment mecca, on this episode of Trapital, we take a trip to Las Vegas and how its coveted residencies have evolved over time, the economics of how they work, and predictions for the future.

I’m joined by Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research. We explore the Las Vegas’ origin with mob ties, the ground-breaking 2003 Celine Dion residency, and the changing demographic of Vegas attendees.

Want to leave us a question for our upcoming mailbag episode? Leave us a voicemail at memo.fm/trapital

This episode is brought to you by DICE. Want to learn more about how you and your artists can reach a packed room of your superfans? Learn more at dice.fm/partners

Make sure you listen in for our new Chartmetric stat of the week!

2:30 Las Vegas evolution in music

14:26 Celine Dion's 2003 residency

21:50 The millennial demand

29:59 Weekends with Adele

41:42 The Sphere

48:04 The Future of Residencies

Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital

Trapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital’s free memo.

We hear a lot about superfans and how important they are for an artist, but we rarely see any data to quantify how valuable they actually are.

In this episode, I'm joined by Will Page, author of Pivot and former chief economist at Spotify, to break down his most recent report, Soundcloud Rockonomics. We discuss the company’s Fan Powered Royalties, the user centric model, how artists like Lil Uzi Vert can measure their fans, and the impact on the industry.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Bandzoogle. Build a stunning website today. Start your free 30-day trial and use promo code ‘trapital’ to get 15% off your first year.

Make sure you listen in for our new Chartmetric stat of the episode!

00:00 SoundCloud’s fan-powered royalties

12:17 Lil Uzi Vert’s superfans

20:17 Helping artists nurture superfans

25:14 Streaming fraud

29:09 What the industry can learn from this model

Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital

Trapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital’s free memo.

This episode is about music's biggest night. But we’re not interested in who should win. This is about the business behind the show and everything surrounding it.

We break down how the show makes money for CBS and the Recording Academy despite the viewership decline, the massive For Your Consideration business, the campaigning required to win an award, and major controversies over the years.

I'm joined by Zack O'Malley Greenburg, friend of the pod, who covered The Grammys several times while at Forbes.

This episode is brought to you by DICE. Want to learn more about how you and your artists can reach a packed room of your superfans? Learn more at dice.fm/partners

Make sure you listen in for our new Chartmetric stat of the week!

00:31 Why The Grammys were started

08:04 The Grammys cultural impact over time.

16:50 How The Grammy elevated the perception of musicians

32:03 How The Recording Academy Works

52:15 Changes we would make to The Grammys

Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital

Trapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital’s free memo.

It's been over 10 years since State Farm's first Chris Paul - Cliff Paul ad. It's been over 20 years since GEICO first introduced the gecko. These ads from insurance companies have been the biggest ad campaigns and their impact continues to grow.

I'm joined by Dr. Marcus Collins, who helped develop the Chris Paul - Cliff Paul campaign during his time at Translation. We talked about why there are so many insurance ads, how Chris Paul - Cliff Paul happened, and how its legacy lives on.

This episode is brought to you by Primary Wave, the home for legends. Learn more about how Primary Wave continues to legacy of the biggest artists from yesterday and today at primarywave.com

Make sure you listen in for our new Chartmetric stat of the week!

Enjoy this podcast? Rate and review the podcast here! ratethispodcast.com/trapital

Trapital is home for the business of music, media and culture. Learn more by reading Trapital’s free memo.