In May, the U.S. Justice Department sued Live Nation - Ticketmaster for "monopolizing markets across the live concert industry," and called for the two companies to be broken up. But the DOJ's lawsuit may be focused on the wrong solution to the problem it wants to solve.

In this episode, NYU Steinhardt professor Larry Miller and I break down the case, our issues with the lawsuit, and the best way to improve the concert business for consumers.

Learn more about the Trapital Summit here. Join us Oct 3 in LA!

This episode is presented by State Farm, the home for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

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StubHub has IPO plans this year, so it was the perfect time to breakdown the complicated, controversial, and crazy story of this ticket resale marketplace. We discuss its 25-year history, M&A, impact on the live concert business, and ways to improve the secondary ticketing experience for fans.

I'm joined by Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research. Hope you enjoy!

Learn more about the Trapital Summit here. Join us Oct 3 in LA!

This episode is presented by State Farm, the home for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Make sure you check out our Chartmetric Stat of the Week.

Learn more about Alts music investor trip to Nashville!

There are very few people in entertainment who move quite like 50 Cent. He's a true One of One, and the focus for today's episode.

We break down his origins in music. From Jam Master Jay to Trackmasters, from "How to Rob" to his mixtape run, the highs of Get Rich or Die Tryin', the brand deals, influence, drama, and where he is today. The man turned trolling into a full time profession.

I'm joined by Zack O'Malley Greenburg, friend of the pod, who interviewed 50 during his time at Forbes. Hope you enjoy!

Learn more about the Trapital Summit here. Join us Oct 3 in LA!

This episode is presented by State Farm, the home for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Make sure you check out our Chartmetric Stat of the Week.

A handful of artists are having their moment. Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, Coco Jones, Victoria Monet, the list goes on. Will these artists be as big as Beyonce? Who knows, but they broke through an industry that becomes harder and harder to break through.

But how does this change the strategy for the major labels? How are the companies outside of the label system handlling things differently. What do the economics of a true non-superstar model look like?

To break it all down, I'm joined by Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research. We first visited this topic in 2022, but so much has changed since then. Hope you enjoy!

This episode is presented by State Farm, the home for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Make sure you check out Chartmetric Stat of the Week.

We're introducing a new series in Trapital called One of Ones! We'll break down some of the most important moguls and executives in music, media, and entertainment.

Our first one is on Quincy Jones. We discuss how his upbringing shapes his strategy in business, his leadership style compared to Motown founder Berry Gordy, Michael Jackson, two truths and a lie, and more.

This episode is presented by State Farm, the home for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Make sure you check out Chartmetric Stat of the Week.

We've all seen the headlines: another well-known artist struggles to sell tickets to their arena shows. But there are plenty of artists selling out those same venues. So what's really going on?

I'm joined by CAA agent Akin Aliu to break it all down. We discuss the post-pandemic touring landscape and the role of each stakeholder: artists, managers, agents, promoters, venues, and more. They each have different incentives that shape the economics, and the product that hits the streets.

This episode is presented by State Farm: the coverage for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Make sure you check out our Chartmetric Stat of the Week.

Depending on who you ask, it's either the best or worst time to be an artist. There's plenty of evidence on both sides. Today, we're breaking down all of that and more.

I'm joined by beatBread's Peter Sinclair. We covered it all:

This was a jam packed episode. Hope you enjoy!

This episode is presented by State Farm. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.

Listen in for our Chartmetric stat of the episode!

Let's dive deep into the world of A24, the film studio known for its distinctive approach to storytelling. We explore A24’s journey from a savvy film distributor to a powerhouse production studio with hits like "Moonlight" and "Everything, Everywhere, All at Once."

But A24 faces some headwinds: big investments with higher expectations, a string of underperforming releases, and pressure to expand to bigger budget IP.

How can the brand known for its mystique be able to maintain its unique positioning?

I'm joined by friend of the pod, Dr. Marcus Collins, to break it all down.

Make sure you listen for our Chartmetric Stat of the Week!

The biggest stars in the world, like Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake, have all the leverage to go independent, but they continue to work with the major labels. A big reason why is that they sign licensing deals. These deals have shifted over time, and become much more artists friendly, especially for the superstars in the streaming era.

We break down the different types of deals, how they’ve shifted over time, and unique case studies like Brent Faiyaz, Kanye West, and more.

I’m joined by Brian “Z” Zisook from Audiomack, who is a wealth of knowledge on this topic.

This episode is brought to you by EVEN. Buy the art from the artist. Learn more at https://get.even.biz/trapital

This episode is also brought to you by SymphonyOS, the marketing platform for today’s creative businesses. Learn more at https://symphony.to/trapital

Make sure you listen for our Chartmetric Stat of the Week!

The market is booming for generative music. Suno raised $125M and Udio has raised over $10M. The tools are impressive, but they raise some important questions:

I'm joined by Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research. Hope you enjoy listening.

Make sure you listen to our Chartmetric stat of the episode!