Music Tectonics

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!

What really happens when a blockchain skeptic and a blockchain supporter talk to each other about solving music industry problems? At the October 2019 Music Tectonics Conference, we hosted a Blockchain Cage Match with three skeptics and three enthusiasts facing off in wrestling masks and capes. Podcast host and conference organizer Dmitri Vietze saw too many events where entrepreneurs and engineers were touting the benefits of blockchain on stage, while music industry veterans snickered at the back of the room. He wanted to bring the factions together instead of having separate conversations. Though the cage match was fun, it didn’t quite turn out the way we’d hoped.  So Dmitri invited two of the panelists to a Blockchain Peace Summit, and you get to listen in. On the skeptic side is Portia Sabin, President of the Music Business Association and host of the Future of What podcast. And coming in on the supporter side is Ken Umezaki, CEO of Verifi Media, a rights data management company that uses blockchain, and President of Digital Daruma, a music tech investment company. Portia and Ken examine the roots of the music industry’s . . . less than thrilled reaction to blockchain evangelism. What have we learned about blockchain since the heady hype of “Crypto Summer” a few years ago? What other tech solutions have both Portia and Ken excited about the future of the music industry, and what’s the missing piece that would change the data landscape in the music biz for good? 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!

Analysts point to Gaming and Esports as the next frontier for the music industry, and a useful model for “monetizing fandom.” Occasional podcast host Tristra Newyear Yeager explores what that really means, with Andres Lauer of Five Vectors as a guide to this new terrain. A music industry insider himself, Andres founded Five Vectors with game industry expert Wasae Imran to open up gaming as a monetization source for independent musicians and to provide gamers with experiences enhanced by music. Find out why it’s a mistake to think of gaming as just another sync opportunity like TV and Film. Go beyond virtual concerts (like Marshmello’s Fortnite performance) to find out how music can be integrated into game experiences. How do digital natives think about the value of music? Which genres do gamers want to listen to (hint: it’s not just EDM)? Why is “monetizing fandom” a misleading turn of phrase? 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 you handle marketing at a label or for an artist, there are so many apps and platforms to vet, test, and adapt. Which ones really work and which are worth the money—or the trouble of implementation? At the first annual Music Tectonics Conference which we held October 28-29, 2019 in Los Angeles, we recruited smart marketing thinkers from great indie labels Ninja Tune, New West Records, Concord, and Loma Vista, and a lone head of digital at Friends at Work to put on a panel titled: “This is How We Do It: Labels and Managers Share Music Tech Tools for Marketing.” Find out about the tech tools that work, and which problems are still in need of smart solutions (Listen up, startups!). Marie Clausen (Ninja Tune Head of N.A. & Global Streaming), moderates a frank conversation with Josh Berman (SVP, Streaming & Digital Marketing at Concord), Mike Fabio (VP of Digital Strategy at New West Records), Jeremy Gruber (Head of Digital at Friends at Work), and Rian Rochford (Head of Ecommerce at Loma Vista Recordings), covering everything from capturing meaningful metrics to Spotify’s pitchign tools. 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. Sign up for the Music Tectonics newsletter and be the first to find out about the 2020 conference!

From new keyboards that virtually recreate the circuitry of vintage organs to “silent” guitars, explore the innovations that the Yamaha Corporation of America brought to the 2020 NAMM show. Find out what thrills Blake Angelos, product specialist in Yamaha’s synth department, about the company's current product lineup and their long history of innovation. Then Andy Winston, guitar product specialist, demonstrates how Yamaha packs their TransAcoustic guitar with reverb and chorus (without wired connections) and what a “silent” guitar sounds like. Music Tectonics went to the 2020 NAMM Show, the 126,000 person trade conference of the National Association of Music Merchandisers. When Dmitri wasn't playing with the most exciting new gear on the trade show floor, he talked to the companies who are trailblazing with new musical instruments, controllers, and software— or reviving old sounds with new tech. Listen in! 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!

Did you ever hear the one about the song produced to sneak morse code to hostages in Colombia to help set them free? That was produced using Reason's music production software. Hear about it in this compelling conversation that host Dmitri Vietze had with Reason content marketing lead Ryan Harlin during the NAMM Convention in Anaheim, California. Ryan also explains how the growing ease of access to music production helped Kendrick Lamar collaborate with a young artist who solely used iPhone apps for his contributions. As comfortable playing banjo with fiddlers or making video game soundtracks, Ryan offers up gem after gem about how music tech is transforming the new era of music creation and listening. Music Tectonics is at the 2020 NAMM Show. When Dmitri’s not playing with the most exciting new gear on the trade show floor, he’s talking to the companies who are trailblazing with new musical instruments, controllers, and software— or reviving old sounds with new tech. 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, and let us know what you think!

Auto-Tune at NAMM with David Przygoda: You’ve probably heard of Auto-Tune, the pitch correction software that is used in thousands of songs not only as an aesthetic effect, but to... correct pitches! Join Dmitri as he interviews Prz and finds out the little known origin of Antares Tech, the company behind Auto-Tune. Find out about the other types of applications Antares makes available and hear Prz’s top tips for NAMM, the 126,000 person trade conference of the National Association of Music merchandisers. Music Tectonics is at the 2020 NAMM Show. When Dmitri’s not playing with the most exciting new gear on the trade show floor, he’s talking to the companies who are trailblazing with new musical instruments, controllers, and software— or reviving old sounds with new tech. Listen in! 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, and let us know what you think!

Moog Music defined the sound of analog synthesizers in the 1960s, and the company is still focused on innovation. Hear the astonishing story of Moog, from the theremins Bob Moog built to put himself through school to this year's release, the Subsequent 25, from Moog Music President Mike Adams and CTO Cyril Lance. Music Tectonics is at the 2020 NAMM Show, the National Association of Music Merchandisers annual event in Anaheim. When Dmitri’s not playing with the most exciting new gear on the trade show floor, he’s talking to the companies who are trailblazing with new musical instruments, controllers, and software— or reviving old sounds with new tech. Listen in! 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!

On the trade floor at NAMM, Dmitri talks audio innovation with Rob D’Amico, director of product marketing for audio solutions at Avid Technology. They dig into Avid’s ProTools DAW, long the standard for audio production and post-production, and its role in bringing music creation and production to the masses. Music Tectonics is at the 2020 NAMM Show, the National Association of Music Merchandisers annual event in Anaheim. When Dmitri’s not playing with the most exciting new gear on the trade show floor, he’s talking to the companies who are trailblazing with new musical instruments, controllers, and software— or reviving old sounds with new tech. Listen in! 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, find us on twitter, facebook, and Instagram, and let us know what you think.

We’re launching a new miniseries on innovation in the world of musical instruments, gear, and software! It’s also the first day of the 2020 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, where gear makers gather to show off their latest and greatest. Our first gear guest is Nick Kwaś, product specialist at KORG. 2020 is set to be the electronic musical instrument maker’s biggest launch year ever: find out how their new Wavestate digital synthesizer reimagines wave sequencing, and how their new DIY brand, Nu:Tekt, is designed for customizability with open-source hardware and software. Explore the analog resurgence that’s bringing more musicians back to the sound of analog synthesizers and gear (just as many are turning back to vinyl and other analog listening formats). Learn about the retro innovations KORG is contributing to that trend, like the Nutube, a new generation miniaturized vacuum tube for that warm tube sound, and their reissue of the ARP 2600, the groundbreaking synth that inspired Steve Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Edgar Winter, and Pete Townsend.  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!