The Future of What

Episode #10: At the height of the vinyl industry, over a billion units were being pressed per year in the United States. But, after the advent of the cassette and compact disc, vinyl production numbers dipped down into the hundreds of thousands. Now that vinyl "is back", and production figures are back up in the millions, what does this mean for the music industry, exactly? For major labels, and their high-dollar re-issue box sets, its been a welcome source of "new" revenue, but for many of the independent labels, that kept the format alive throughout the downturn, this vinyl resurgence has resulted in longer wait times and lower quality product -- at a time when demand for their product has never been higher. In this episode, we visit the newest, and only, record pressing plant in the Northwest, Cascade Record Pressing, and talk to the owners (Adam Gonsalves, Amy Dragon, and Mark Rainey) about the niche they hope to fill in this exploding market, and how they hope to live through their experiences as label owners and master engineers. After that Portia speaks with one of the founders of Record Store Day, Michael Kurtz, who's organization is often credited with starting the vinyl resurgence. Finally, Portia talks with Darius Van Arman of Secretly Canadian about what the shift to a global release date means for U.S. retail stores that are trying to keep up with this new, increased demand for vinyl.

Episode #9: Is Comedy The New Punk Rock? With Hari Kondabolu, Amy Miller, Nathan Brannon, and Adam Triplett from Helium Comedy Club!

Episode #8: A lot of discussion has been had recently about the resurgence of vinyl, but there are other formats that are also increasing in market share within the industry. In this episode, we talk with Anna Bond (Rough Trade Records) and Amanda Brown (Not Not Fun Records) about vinyl, and Shawn and Lee from Burger Records about their success in the cassette world. We also talk to Gavin Godfrey (Creative Loafing) about the mixtape/CD-R culture still very much alive in Atlanta.

Episode #6: If you're a baker, you get paid for the bread you make. If you're a driver, you get paid for the road you travel. But if you're a singer, you DON'T get paid for the songs you sing that are played on the radio. We talk about radio performance royalties with Nu Shooz singer Valerie Day, Congressman Jerrold Nadler, and musicFIRST's Ted Kalo.

Episode #5: In this episode, Portia discusses the changing nature of scenes with Jon Fine (the author of "Your Band Sucks"), Marnie Stern (8G Band), and Claudia Meza (Explode Into Colors). In the age of the internet, are local, geographically specific music scenes important to artists success anymore? Tune in and find out what these folks have to say on the subject!

Episode #4:This month, the FCC ruled internet radio company Pandora could buy a small radio station in Rapid City, South Dakota. So why does Pandora want to run a small, top-40 station in one of the nation's smallest markets? It turns out this small station could reap big rewards for Pandora. We talk NMPA CEO David Israelite, Paul Resnikoff of Digital Music News, and Casey Rae of the Future of Music Coalition.

Episode #3: This episode of the Future of What focuses on "Direct To Fan" sales, which have exploded in recent years thanks to the internet. Jessica Boudreaux and Marc Swart of Summer Cannibals and New Moss Records talk about their merch strategies as both band and label. James Reling from Kill Rock Stars speaks on his super-fandom and which artists in particular he follows intently. Ben Hubbird of CD Baby explains the changing role that the company has played since their inception in 2003. Tim Bierman, manager of the Pearl Jam "Ten Club", talks about the importance of giving fans what they want when they want it. Benji Rogers of Pledge Music ends the episode with an explanation of how Pledge Music is different than other crowd funding sites, and the importance of engaging the "super fans".

Episode #2: This episode of the Future of What focuses on sync licensing, which is the process by which music is sync'd to picture, as is the case in advertising, movie trailers, etc. Justin Ringle of the band Horse Feathers sits in the studio with Portia this time around, and they talk about his recent tour(s) and the series of sync/placements that he had with the California Dairy Board. Rounding out the hour, Portia speaks with Matt FX about what its like to secure music for an of-the-moment show like "Broad City", and Carianne Marshall(of SONGS Music Publishing)explains the importance of sync licenses to an artists' career. Sohrab Nafici (Director, Music/legal at Warner Bros.) caps the episode off with his insight into the historical and current trends within the sync business. This episode features music from: Horse Feathers, Deerhoof, Dos, and The Delta 5.

Episode #1: How are artists making money in the new economy? Some artists are fighting the corporations and winning: The Turtles and the pre-1972 copyright debate. What is SoundExchange and why does everyone love them? (Hint: They are not the Nigerian prince!) Why is there no performance royalty for commercial radio play and what are we going to do about it? Plus: featured record label Dualtone Records, home of The Lumineers and others! Guests include: Hutch Harris (The Thermals), Mike Huppe (SoundExchange), Daryl Friedman (The Recording Academy), Emily Green (The Daily Journal) & Scott Robinson (Dualtone Records) Featured music: Delta 5 "Mind Your Own Business", Deerhoof "The Perfect Me", Two Ton Boa "Bleeding Heart", Marnie Stern "Patterns of Diamond Ceiling"