Music Tectonics

Matthew Neutra, Lead Experience Engineer at Bose, tells host Dmitri Vietze about the audio company’s focus on delivering musical experiences and solving human problems. Find out how their philosophy has kept them at the front line of audio innovation as music listening has evolved, from speakers, to headphones, to earbuds, and beyond. Hear the origin story of founder Amar Bose’s pioneering noise cancelling headphones, and how the company’s recent innovation, Frames audio sunglasses, succeeds where other wearables failed. Why do Bose engineers like to see the “trout look” on product testers’ faces? What audio innovations are expanding during the COVID-19 pandemic? Matthew shares his vision for the future of user interfaces, and why audio-only experiences will have an edge against XR that focuses on visuals. The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit MusicTectonics.com to learn more, and find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

How do artists and songwriters navigate music industry revenue streams and royalty payouts to achieve financial independence? Damian Manning, founder and CEO of HIFI, explains how his company brings tech innovation to business management for the music industry. Find out how HIFI’s Royalties Dashboard puts income data from many sources into one view, so artists and their teams can make smart financial decisions and chase down problems. Why is HIFI committed to a membership services model that provides education and a supportive community as well as financial tools and products? What are the costs and benefits of remaining staunchly independent? Get a sneak peek at HIFI’s upcoming product Cash Flow, which lets artists turn the ebbs and flows of their earnings into a stable salary. How did Damian’s past experiences at MTV and Echospin in the early days of the digital revolution shape HIFI’s development, and what trends does he see shaping 2021? Listen for a chance to talk back and win one of host Dmitri Vietze’s fave books!   The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit MusicTectonics.com to learn more, and find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

Music Tech strategist and writer Tristra Newyear Yeager joins host Dmitri Vietze to dig into the highs and lows of the most tumultuous year for the music industry in decades. How did the pandemic accelerate the adoption of new technologies for professional artists, music consumers, and the growing number of creators who fall somewhere in between? Will 2020’s lessons on scarcity and abundance change the way music is made, released, and promoted? What will future virtual concerts look and feel like? Why so many IPOs and DPOs in the music biz in 2020? Who is poised to cut the Gordian knot of music licensing that stymies so many rising tech companies that augment their products with music? Which trends are getting Dmitri and Tristra most excited for 2021? Listen for a chance to talk back and win one of Dmitri’s fave books!  The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit MusicTectonics.com to learn more, and join our community at app.musictectonics.com.

Ecommerce platforms just aren’t built for the music, merch, and tickets artists and their teams have to sell. Find out how Single Music solves their problems by making direct-to-fan music tools for the popular, powerful Shopify platform. Founder & CEO Tommy Stalknecht tells how the company builds feature sets and thrives in Shopify’s app-based ecosystem, letting artists sell (and bundle) digital and physical music, merch, and tickets. Learn about how Single added tools early in the pandemic for artists pivoting from live concerts to live streaming. How are artists moving the merch they were planning to take on tour in 2020? Why is Direct-to-consumer selling so important? What trends does Tommy see in DTC marketing, How will livestreaming coexist with in-person events in the future- and what does that mean for artists’ revenue streams? The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit MusicTectonics.com to learn more, and find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

You’ve seen the viral videos of celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Mark McGrath wishing happy birthday to their fans, now dig into how Cameo is innovating the monetization of fandom. Mat Devine, head of Music Partnerships at Cameo, sits down with host Dmitri Vietze to explore how fans and artists are connecting on Cameo. Learn how the platform makes its magic: fans get memorable video shoutouts and support their favorite celebs, while artists get to connect with their listeners and generate revenue- even when touring is on hold due to the pandemic. Find out how Mat’s music career helps him connect with both sides of the Cameo equation, and what fandom monetization problems he thinks the music industry ought to solve next. Which music genres have already taken off on Cameo, and what sets successful Cameo celebs apart? How much would you have to pay to get a personal video message from your favorite artist? The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit MusicTectonics.com to learn more, and find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

Music Tech analyst Mark Mulligan of MIDiA Research explores what comes next after streaming saturation in this talk recorded at Music Tectonics’ conference teaser event, The Shock Before the Quake. As the streaming market reaches saturation, where will new growth drivers arise? Which unlikely platforms are poised to take the lead in converting free users to subscribers? Why are we still mistaking quantity for quality when it comes to music discovery? How do you socially distance a mosh pit? Where is livestreaming in the hype cycle, and how is the music industry repeating past mistakes with livestreaming? Conference attendees can watch video of this talk- and more from the conference- in the Music Tectonics community app. If you missed out, there’s a chance to catch up at https://pages.musictectonics.com/noFOMO! The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit MusicTectonics.com to learn more, and find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

When a sold-out show has empty seats and scalpers are selling choice tickets for an arm and a leg, it’s hard on artists, fans, and everyone who counts on a live show to succeed. Lawrence Peryer, Chief Revenue Officer at Lyte, explains the live event ticketing landscape and how Lyte’s ecommerce thinking is bringing it up to date. Find out how Lyte products help fans buy, exchange, and return tickets with ease, while artists and risktakers fill houses, hold on to revenue, and learn about their audience. What happens when you offer fans options like advance waitlists for tickets? What’s the relationship between primary ticket sales and the secondary market? Learn how Lyte responded to pandemic shutdowns, and how fans are voting for hope with their wallets. Get the lowdown on Lawrence’s career, from CD Universe to David Bowie’s ISP/Fan Club Ultrastar to Live Nation to Lyte.  The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit MusicTectonics.com to learn more, and find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

Bob Moczydlowsky (you can call him Bob Moz), Managing Director of Techstars Music, explains how the accelerator program unites Techstars venture capital with member companies across the global music business. Find out how Techstars Music selects 10 music startups from around the world for 13 weeks of intensive mentorship, development and investment every year, and which hot emerging companies the program has launched. How has Techstars Music responded to 2020’s crises by doubling down on their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion for 2021 and beyond? The public application window for Techstars 2021 cohort may have closed, but listen closely for Bob’s inside scoop on getting your application in now! Why is Los Angeles the perfect location for Techstars Music? What Music industry innovation is Bob Moz wishing for- will you be the one who makes it happen? The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit MusicTectonics.com to learn more, and find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

Music Tech journalist and researcher Cherie Hu wrapped up the recent Music Tectonics Conference with a fireside chat with Dmitri Vietze. Listen in on their conversation to get a taste of Cherie’s upcoming book on how artists can run their music careers more like tech entrepreneurs. How is recording an album like developing software, and how has the pandemic led artists to change their approach? Music Tectonics can watch the sessions they missed in the Music Tectonics community app! Visit MusicTectonics.com to learn more. The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

Brett takes us on a wild journey through the outer edges of music tech and its impact on music making and listening. In a time when tablets can be studios and algorithms bandmates, he and Dmitri explore the tension between aesthetics and tools, music’s evolving value frameworks and tried-and-true structures, and the fuzzy world springing up between makers and fans. No longer locked to a room, no longer tied to analog instruments or clunky digital interfaces, music lovers are finding new depths of expressive potential in tech tools. A composer and veteran coder, an architect of the new MIDI 2.0 standard, Brett talks about how laptops and iPads are becoming their own kind of new instruments with unique interfaces, not just sleeker iterations of studio hardware and consoles. Sensors and prototyping platforms allow newcomers and experimenters to create complex gear and multi-touch controllers like Artiphon that depart from analog models. Standards and metadata allow for ever richer complexity. It all adds up to a revolution in expressivity, one that promises to transform how we translate our experiences into audio. The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit MusicTectonics.com to learn more, and find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!