Ep. 123: Music Ally’s Editor Joe Sparrow chats to Cat Henry, executive director of the US-based nonprofit philanthropic organisation Live Music Society. Cat talks about the society’s mission, which it describes as “to recognise and protect small venues and listening rooms across the United States so that live music can remain accessible to all.” Small venues can be one of the most enjoyable and valuable things that any local community possesses; a place where people can gather, enjoy music and grow their community. Small venues have been under the cosh in recent years: not only did the covid-19 lockdown punish them particularly hard, but a changing gigging environment, and large increases in costs has meant that, in 2023, running a small venue is hard work. Cat tells us about the state of the small venue community in the USA, the threats they and challenges they face, and why they are so important to the people who love them. Live Music Society https://www.livemusicsociety.org/ Cat Henry: https://www.livemusicsociety.org/news/live-music-society-announces-appointment-ofcat-henry-as-executive-director Toolbox grant https://www.livemusicsociety.org/toolboxgrant John Coltrane – A Love Supreme ⁠youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGUJd_6WZDWv_YGv6b4kd1IJbaH_Z7bGP⁠ Cobbler Most fruit cobbler eaten in 30 seconds ------ 👉 FREE Amazon Music for Artists courses & certification: https://learn.musically.com/courses/amazon-music-for-artists/ 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo 🎉 You may be eligible for a FREE Music Ally subscription, worth £399/year, via our corporate and sponsored subscriptions. If you work for a DSP, a major label, an indie label, or if you’re an artist manager, an employee of a CMO or a publisher, check here to see if you’re eligible: musically.com/subscription-options Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-leading analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Alex Mubert, founder of the Mubert AI generative music platform, discusses how generative AI music platforms will revolutionize music-making. He highlights the role of content creators in the mass adoption of generative music and its impact on streaming platform revenue. The podcast also explores payment for rights holders and monetization options on generative AI music platforms, as well as the future of generative music on streaming platforms. With personalized music generation and collaborations with major labels, the concept of music-making is being redefined.

Ep. 121: We speak to two people from TikTok who have helped turn classical music into viral content. TikTok has captured the attention of people in every area of the music industry, who now look to the short-video app for A&R, marketing, music discovery, audience-building and fan-nurturing. Darina Connolly, Head of Artist & Label Partnerships, talks about TikTok’s direction and strategy, and she’s joined by Label Partnerships Manager Lisa Skeppner, who is one of the go-to TikTok people when it comes to classical music. Music Ally's Editor Joe Sparrow asks them what it is about classical music that holds users’ attentions – is it the song, the performance, the context of the song’s use, or the artists themselves? And what can non-classical artists learn for how they use TikTok? We talk to Darina and Lisa about how classical music has connected on TikTok, and the impact on classical artists – and also they talk more widely about what it means for users to be discovering new “old" music this way – and what the longer-term impacts of that are beyond short-term spikes in attention around novel genres. TikTok Artist Handbook: newsroom.tiktok.com/en-gb/uk-artist-handbook-supporting-artists-to-get-the-most-out-of-tiktok Sade - No Ordinary Love: youtube.com/watch?v=_WcWHZc8s2I ABBA – Gimme Gimme Gimme: youtube.com/watch?v=XEjLoHdbVeE Peas: Most peas eaten using a cocktail stick in 30 seconds ------ 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo 🎉 You may be eligible for a FREE Music Ally subscription, worth £399/year, via our corporate and sponsored subscriptions. If you work for a DSP, a major label, an indie label, or if you’re an artist manager, an employee of a CMO or a publisher, check here to see if you’re eligible: musically.com/subscription-options Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-leading analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Ep 120: We're joined by Piers Henwood, a Grammy and Juno-nominated artist manager and musician. Artists today are under increasing pressure to do, well, lots of stuff: write, record and release music, create TikToks, collaborate, communicate with fans, go on tours, and so much more. A while ago, Piers wrote a guest post on Music Ally about “the implications of the pressure placed on artists to succeed in a needy industry and an always-on culture” – so we wanted to talk to him more deeply about the relationship between fans and artists, and the pressures that artists experience. Henwood says it’s time we take another look at who the customer is in this system, and help artists retreat from the always-on approach.  Music Ally Editor Joe Sparrow chatted to him about what a healthy and sustainable creative existence is for the people who, ultimately, are at the centre of everything we love about music. Piers' guest post on Music Ally: musically.com/2023/05/09/reclaiming-fame-as-an-artist-whos-your-customer-guest-post Harry Belafonte - Calypso: youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nL5Xd_KkpM0wzk08xIw2mksZvS7ze9JZo Piers Henwood: piershenwood.com ------ 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo 🎉 You may be eligible for a FREE Music Ally subscription, worth £399/year, via our corporate and sponsored subscriptions. If you work for a DSP, a major label, an indie label, or if you’re an artist manager, an employee of a CMO or a publisher, check here to see if you’re eligible: musically.com/subscription-options Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-leading analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Ep 119: Every time our Head of Insight appears on the podcast, people say how useful they find his analysis – so we're bringing Stuart Dredge back again to answer a thorny question: “is music streaming like radio?”. Stuart explains why this simple-sounding question is actually quite complex and how it could raise a number of fundamental legal issues around payments to artists and rightsholders. Streaming platforms have always provided radio-like experiences: whether something simple like "lean back" listening – where you hit play and the platform chooses what music you hear – or more overt concepts like Spotify's new AI DJ, creating what is a recognisable personalised radio-like experience. So at what point should streaming music be classed as "radio"? Moreover, streaming services want to compete with regular radio, to attract its listeners and advertisers. What does it mean, then, if streaming and radio's boundaries are blurring? Editor Joe Sparrow puts these questions, and more, to Stuart. ------ 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo 🎉 You may be eligible for a FREE Music Ally subscription, worth £399/year, via our corporate and sponsored subscriptions. If you work for a DSP, a major label, an indie label, or if you’re an artist manager, an employee of a CMO or a publisher, check here to see if you’re eligible: musically.com/subscription-options Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-leading analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Keatly Haldeman, CEO of Dequency, discusses the long-term impact of web3, crypto, and blockchain tech on the music business. They explore the benefits of blockchain in music licensing, smart contracts, and future payments. Keatly shares their journey in the music industry and the importance of signal processing. The podcast concludes with a discussion on an agency, passion for music, and a significant album choice.

David Martin, CEO of the Featured Artists Coalition, discusses venues charging commission on merch sales and supporting emerging artists with Step Up funding. They address the FAC's 100% Venues campaign against commission and how they're injecting cash and connections into artist careers. They also talk about the importance of artists understanding the business side of music and highlight campaigns related to freelancer payment and post-Brexit touring. Plus, they explore musical influences and Joy Division's dark sound.

Ep 116: Music Ally Editor Joe Sparrow is joined by A Greener Future CEO and cofounder Claire O’Neill. AGF created the world’s first event sustainability standards and now offers consultancy, training, certification and membership to the events industry. We talk to her about how live events can become greener and more sustainable – and how there’s a lot more to it that simply cutting down on carbon emissions. The events industry is a part of the music industry that can stand to make some sweeping changes to run it in a more sustainable manner. Events and festivals require moving huge amounts of people and equipment and consume a lot of resources – often in the form of non-renewable fuel. Punters, artists, and industry workers increasingly want to be taking part in events that are not damaging the planet. And yet events are complicated, and have many stakeholders. So how do you do it? Claire O’Neill and A Greener Future say that they help you find the path through to… well, a greener future. AGF: agreenerfuture.com T. Rex, Left Hand Luke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ftosocPOA4 ------ 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo 🎉 You may be eligible for a FREE Music Ally subscription, worth £399/year, via our corporate and sponsored subscriptions. If you work for a DSP, a major label, an indie label, or if you’re an artist manager, an employee of a CMO or a publisher, check here to see if you’re eligible: musically.com/subscription-options Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-leading analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Ep. 115: We’re joined by Cliff Fluet – someone who has worked with, or advised, music-related AI platforms for a decade. He talks to Music Ally Editor Joe Sparrow about the bigger-picture possibilities and repercussions that AI could have on the music industry – he calls it "the most consequential tool the music industry could use" and one that "could solve a number of its biggest challenges," including real-time music detection, metadata, and personalised discovery. Cliff is a man with a lot on his plate – he’s Joint Head of Media & Entertainment at law firm Lewis Silkin, is MD at Eleven Advisory, is Chair of the Ivors Academy Trust, and is Vice Chair of Help Musicians. He’s also got deep experience working with companies in the AI music space – advising on all the various legal and business considerations that inevitably crop up when the music industry and AI come together. We took the chance to talk to someone who knows his AI onions and move the conversation along a bit from the basic legal implications. We asked him whether the music business is really prepared for the impact of AI, and we also picked his brains to discover some of the applications of AI in the music industry that you might not have yet considered. Cliff Fluet on LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/clifffluet The final side of "Abbey Road": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4Ujexj9YGs ------ 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo 🎉 You may be eligible for a FREE Music Ally subscription, worth £399/year, via our corporate and sponsored subscriptions. If you work for a DSP, a major label, an indie label, or if you’re an artist manager, an employee of a CMO or a publisher, check here to see if you’re eligible: musically.com/subscription-options Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-leading analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb

Ep. 114: In this special episode we’re checking in on The Music Business Academy (MBA) for Africa –  a training program geared towards developing the next generation of music industry executives in Africa. It’s developed by Creative Industries Initiative For Africa in partnership with Music Ally and Dr. Carlos Chirinos of the Music Business Department at the New York University. Having been involved with the MBA for Africa for a few years now, we thought it would be great to speak to some of the staff – some of whom are alumni of the programme – to check in on how education is meeting the needs of the music industry in west Africa. So we speak to Kini-Abasi Edet, Head of Operations, Pokyes Jan, Head Of Administration, and Nissi Utho, Project Manager. (We’d also like to thank Okoro Frances, who’s Head of A&R, for taking part too – but unfortunately a technical gremlin meant that this recording was not usable.) Anyway - we got some great insight on the kind of skills the local music industry needs, and how the global attention on West African music is helping the local industry to develop the next generation of artists and industry professionals. MBA For Africa: https://mbaforafrica.com/ MBA for Africa on Music Ally: https://musically.com/2022/04/11/music-business-academy-for-africa-returns-for-second-year/ ------ 👋 The Knowledge, Music Ally’s free weekly newsletter: musically.lnk.to/knowledgepo 🎉 You may be eligible for a FREE Music Ally subscription, worth £399/year, via our corporate and sponsored subscriptions. If you work for a DSP, a major label, an indie label, or if you’re an artist manager, an employee of a CMO or a publisher, check here to see if you’re eligible: musically.com/subscription-options Ⓜ️ Subscribe to Music Ally's industry-leading analysis, reporting and news: musically.com/subscribe Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicallybiz Twitter: https://twitter.com/musically Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicallyfb