Music Ally Focus

In this fascinating and entertaining episode, we're joined by two people who are asking complicated questions about the nature of music copyright: Damien Riehl, technologist, technology lawyer and musician, and coder and technologist Noah Rubin. You may have heard of them previously – together, Riehl and Rubin created software that composed every single possible melody – and then they released them into the public domain. We ask them about their work, and Damien gives his forthright opinions on the recent Ed Sheeran plagiarism court case, copyright trolls, whether the copyright law as it stands is fit for purpose, and what music copyright law should look like. All the Music: http://allthemusic.info Damien’s TED talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/damien_riehl_copyrighting_all_the_melodies_to_avoid_accidental_infringement Damien’s music choice: Phoebe Bridgers  Noah's choice: Beardyman  ------- 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-standard analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Ian Matthews and Sam Bates to talk about how a Web3 business becomes a DAO and what happens when a smart linking service is added to the mix. You may know Ian's work as a member of the wildly successful UK band Kasabian – whose songs have been streamed billions of times – but he is also in the Web3 business, as co-founder of a community-owned, not for profit web3 organisation. We’re going to ask him what his soon-to-be-DAO does, what he hopes to achieve with it, and what excites him about this space – and he's joined by Sam Bates, the CMO of one of the companies that Ian's organisation has acquired: smart linking service Amplify. So how will web3 tech work in a world where artists are keen to own their direct fan relationships? Ian’s DAO: https://www.chapel.earth Amplify: https://amplify.link Ian's music pick: The Atomic Mr Basie Sam's music pick: Nas' Illmatic ------- 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-standard analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Andrea Czapary Martin, CEO of PRS for Music, which represents the rights of over 160,000 songwriters, composers, and music publishers in the UK and around the world. The last few years have seen income in the music industry fluctuate wildly due to the impact of coronavirus – and PRS for Music has just released its 2021 results, including how much money it has collected and has paid out to songwriters during that period of disruption. So we spoke to Andrea about those results, and also about the future of music being used in new technology spaces – like, you guessed it – the metaverse. One quick note about the Ukraine campaign that Andrea mentions – she’d like to make it clear that this is a CISAC initiative that PRS for Music supports – and you can read about – and support – it here: cisac.org/Newsroom/news-releases/cisac-solidarity-fund-ukraine PRS for Music: prsformusic.com ------- 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-standard analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Last year, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative examined over 4,000 executives from 119 music companies and found that only 7.5% were Black. In this episode we’re joined by Jaia Thomas, founder and president of Diverse Representation, and Amity Paye, senior director of communications at Color Of Change, two organisations that recently announced the launch of the Diverse Representation Music Database, which connects music companies directly with Black talent across the USA. They’ll be talking about representation and equity in the music business, as well as the ambitions of the database, and the corporate accountability of the industry at large. Amity and Jaia also suggest how you can get started and be part of the change – even if you think you’re not powerful enough to make a difference. (Spoiler: you are!) Color of Change https://colorofchange.org The Diverse Representation Black Professionals Music Database https://www.diverserepresentationmusic.com The #ChangeMusic initiative https://changeindustries.org/changemusic ------- 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-standard analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

We warmly welcome Godwin Tom and Elizabeth Sobowale to talk about developing the next generation of music industry executives in Africa. They oversee Music Business Academy (MBA) for Africa – a training program that aims to develop that next generation. Godwin is CEO of iManage Africa and Elizabeth is Programme Director of MBA for Africa, which has developed the program in partnership with Music Ally and Dr. Carlos Chirinos of the Music Business Department at the New York University. Runs between July and November 2022, the program will teach students about a range of music business trends and technologies, as well as giving them hands-on experience in releasing and promoting music to create sustainable careers for artists. We wanted to talk to Elizabeth and Godwin about the changes they have seen in the African markets, the kind of training and education needed to develop the people who work in the industries there, and their thoughts on the future of the African music industry – and the music itself. Music Business Academy for Africa: https://musicbusinessafrica.org Godwin Tom: https://www.instagram.com/godwintom Elizabeth Sobowale: https://www.instagram.com/elizabeth_sho CIIF Africa: https://www.instagram.com/ciif.africa ------- 👋 Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter, The Knowledge: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo  Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-standard analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Music Ally Focus #54: Vickie Nauman, founder of music consultancy CrossBorderWorks, recently worked on a notable metaverse project, which involved the music licensing for 20 of David Guetta’s songs for an event where he – via his virtual avatar – DJ’ed in Roblox earlier this year. So we wanted to talk to Vickie about licensing music – something tricky enough in normal circumstances - in the metaverse. She tells us what she learned, and what she thinks the future of music in the metaverse will look like. This Focus podcast is another in a series that digs into the burgeoning web3 space: the new concepts, ideas, and conventions and how they relate to the music business.  Vickie/CrossBorderWorks: https://www.crossborderworks.com David Guetta's Roblox party: https://roblox.fandom.com/wiki/David_Guetta_DJ_Party 👋 Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter, The Knowledge: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-standard analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Josh Empson, CEO of Tempo Music Investments, joins Joe Sparrow to explain what it’s like to have a $1 billion-plus fund to invest in the purchase of music rights, and what these purchases mean for music and rightsholders. We are fascinated by this space, where huge sums change hands for ownership of songs – so we talked to Josh about how catalogues are chosen for purchasing, whether music is under- or over-valued at the moment, the long-term strategy of these investments, and what the impact might be on mid-tier songwriters and artists. Josh/Tempo: https://www.tempomusic.com/people/josh-empson 👋 Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter, The Knowledge: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-standard analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

The music NFT bubble has not popped as some predicted, but it has deflated dramatically since it’s STONK-stastic peak in early 2021. The music-related NFT business is now settling into something more affordable, practical, and dare we say it, mundane. So we invited Max Shand, of the music NFT platform Serenade, to talk about it. Serenade has partnered with a number of music industry institutions and artists – and Max explains what a longer-term Music NFT landscape will look like, and what opportunities exist there for artists. He also talks about how he believes NFTs will empower fandom, stop artists from feeling like T-shirt makers first, and artists second, and his own extensive Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark collection of merch. This is another episode in a new series of shows that dig into the burgeoning web3 space, and the new concepts, ideas, and conventions within it – and how they relate to the music business.  Serenade: https://serenade.co A Super Furry Animals NFT on Serenade: https://serenade.co/products/116022 👋 Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter, The Knowledge: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-standard analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Edward Balassanian, founder and CEO of AI music creation company Aimi, chats to Music Ally's editor Joe Sparrow about the role AI music will play in our lives – and the conversation quickly gets a little bit philosophical. AI generated music is fascinating, partly because it questions our connection with music in the first place: if that music is not made by humans, then what is it we actually enjoy about it? Edward talks how music produced by AI may be part of many experiences in the future, and paints a picture of a world where we start to think about music - and what we use it for - in very different ways.  Listen to Aimi's AI-created music here via these streaming experiences: https://aimi.fm/experiences/?sort=livelistening-desc https://aimi.fm/experience/deep/ https://aimi.fm/experience/push/ 👋 Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter, The Knowledge: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-standard analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Distributors hold even more keys to powerful fan-engagement opportunities than ever. Last year saw big changes in the space: aggressive geographic expansion, moves into NFTs, DeFi, and crypto, and fintech partnerships. Music Ally’s Editor Joe Sparrow talks to special guest Kristin Graziani, president of music distribution service Stem – who talks about the evolving role of digital distributors in 2022, and what artists actually want from their distributor, in an era when Direct-to-fan is becoming the default approach for emerging and established artists. Stem: https://stem.is 👋 Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter, The Knowledge: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-standard analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb