Music Tectonics

There is a new generation of apps and platforms for listeners to become musicians and many of them allow you to collaborate remotely. What will make them reach the next level? A worldwide quarantine! Sounds like a perfect time to launch an app, right? Tim Exile — electronic artist turned tech founder — rocks out some tunes on this episode, jamming across oceans, while he explains to podcast host Dmitri Vietze just how looped collaboration sidesteps the latency challenge of working across the planet. He tells how users from four countries formed a band and even though they have never met in person are about to release a new record. He describes how artist Flux Pavilion is sharing an Endlesss track a day for the month of March. And he says that while some people are wasting away their lives playing Candy Crush, others are obsessively making music for the first time on Endlesss. 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!

Touring screeched to a halt with worldwide social distancing. But you know what to do: live stream! Luckily platforms like YouNow have been brewing with fan-building and monetization tools for several years. On this episode host Dmitri Vietze talks to YouNow president Jake Branzburg about the skyrocketed growth they are experiencing during the COVID-19 crisis. You’ll learn about the diversity of creators on the service, how to engage in reciprocal performances, and what it takes to bring or build your fan base when live streaming. If you simply want to transfer the one to many concert performance experience into the online world, you’ll probably fail. But if you want to learn the new art of monitoring chats while playing or bringing a fan on stage virtually to have a conversation, you... will... win! Listen to Jake and Dmitri get into the specifics and give you the context you need to grasp the world of live-streaming in the era of isolation. 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!

Amper’s AI-powered music composition tool, Score, helps content creators make music tailored to their projects, whether they’re seasoned musicians or novices. Amper Music CEO Drew Silverstein places Amper and AI music in context of a long history of algorithmic music, and an even longer history of increasing accessibility to the means of music creation. How will AI music composition technology transform the jobs—and careers—of musicmakers? What makes Amper’s sample library different from all the rest? How does Amper address the thorny legal issues around rights and splits when humans and AI collaborate? And if Score sounds like a powerful tool, wait until you hear about what Amper’s API can do!  Note that this episode was recorded in early March, before many music industry events (including Music Tectonics Meetups) were moved online, postponed, or cancelled. 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!

Emma McGann returns to share what every musician needs to know right now: how live streaming can keep fans connected and replace income lost to cancelled gigs. When her U.S. tour had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UK-based singer songwriter Emma McGann drew on 6 years of experience live streaming on YouNow and replaced every tour date with an online concert. Through sales of virtual tour passes and perks, she’s been able to recoup her losses. Emma tells Dmitri everything artists need to know to get started live streaming: What do fans want from the live streaming experience? How is performing on live stream different than playing in a venue or shooting a video? How does monetization work? Get Emma’s practical advice on how to set up your live streaming space, choose the essential equipment you need, and build your live stream community. 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 links to all Emma's projects. Find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and let us know what you think!

With isolation and remote work looming last week, we recorded a podcast conversation about communication and collaboration. Irregular host Tristra Newyear Yeager (and rock paper scissors writer / strategist) tells Eleanor Rust, rps marketing director, about essential lessons she’s learned from collaborating with people scattered around the globe, and how to maximize listening while minimizing distraction. How could music creation change as tech solutions for synchronous collaboration develop? What might the future of music creation and collaboration share with our past? Peek into rabbit holes ranging from traditional blind minstrels in Ukraine to Soundwhale to Breughel paintings. 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 can the music industry take a proactive role in confronting the climate crisis? Tristra Newyear Yeager chats with Bas Grasmayer about the answers tech is providing for music biz sectors from live events to streaming. Why are music festivals the perfect context to explore innovation, inspire attendees to shift their behaviors, and incubate ideas that have positive impacts on climate? What’s the one thing that could change the carbon footprint of music streaming? How could the music industry model approaches to climate emergency on their responses to the digital revolution? If you’ve been following music tech, you’ve probably encountered Bas’s insightful writing on his MUSIC X TECH X FUTURE website and newsletter. Bas’s recent MUSIC X GREEN project collects the climate crisis resources sprouting up all over the music industry, from activism to eco-conscious vinyl to offsetting the carbon footprint of touring musicians. 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!

Zack Zalon believes streaming music could sound better- a LOT better. His company Super Hi-Fi lives in the spaces between songs, spaces that music streaming services have ignored (until now). Zack explains how Super Hi-Fi’s AI-powered song and audio transitions make the streaming experience sound more distinctive and more engaging. Find out what this high-tech company learned from broadcast radio- a medium that’s still thriving despite being built on antiquated technology. Zack takes Dmitri on a high-level tour of where the entire audio market has been: radio, music streaming, podcasts, and where it’s going next. Find out how Zack and his team’s long experience building digital music products for major industry clients led them to create Super Hi-Fi, with the goal of taking music streaming forward into its next phase. 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!

Host Dmitri Vietze has been closely watching the seismic shifts shaking up the music industry as a result of tech and innovation. Dig deeper into the 20 music tech phenomena that Dmitri’s watching for 2020. He lays out what he thinks could be next for Spotify, the indie music sector, AI music creation, music’s role in the changing geopolitical landscape, what PR’s got to do with it all, and 15 other trends. Find out which phenomena are already seeing some action since Dmitri first targeted 20 to watch in the year ahead on the Music Tectonics blog! What phenomena are you watching this year? Let Dmitri know what you think! Find him @dmitrivietze on Twitter and Instagram, or connect with him on LinkedIn and Facebook. 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 @MusicTectonics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

We have big news in this special episode: the venues and dates for our next Music Tectonics Conference! Find out from hosts Dmitri Vietze and Tristra Newyear Yeager what new experiences we’re planning for 2020. What made the first Music Tectonics Conference so much fun that we had to do it again? Which music and tech topics will we add into the conference mix this year? What can you win in the pre-sale contest that ends Feb. 25?  Get updates on your hosts’ latest contributions to the MT blog: which of Dmitri’s “20 for 2020” music tech predictions have already come true? How did people respond to Tristra’s ‘Bodyfulness” piece on music tech and fitness? What’s the next seismic shift Dmitri’s thinking of adding to the trading card deck? Listen to find out! 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!

CEO Jared Kristensen explains how Audience Republic powers live event promotion by amplifying the most effective marketing tool: word-of-mouth. Their social sharing platform engages fans and provides valuable data and messaging tools to promoters. You can practically hear the moment that host Dmitri Vietze decides to dive in! After Jared and Dmitri dig into how Audience Republic campaign works, you can try it out yourself. Sign up for a Pre-Sale campaign free at the Music Tectonics conference website, then follow, share and invite friends through Audience Republic’s platform to earn points towards prizes like a free conference badge! Audience Republic now works with 100s of music festivals, sports events, and more worldwide, and their reach is growing.  Find out how Jared Kristensen’s early successes and failures booking and promoting concerts in Australia led him to build Audience Republic with promoters and artists in mind. He makes a convincing case for owning your audience and your data, rather than relying on the social networks that act as middlemen between fans and the artists they love.  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!