The Future of What

Over the past two years, we’ve seen a major shift from pursuing incremental change to taking truly meaningful action in establishing a more inclusive and equitable workforce. In this month’s episode, we talk to three executives leading the charge to bolster diversity and inclusion in the music industry about the successes of their initiatives and what work still needs to be done.

In this month’s episode recognizing Disability Pride Month, Music Biz President talks with singer/songwriter and disability advocate, Lachi who founded RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities), a coalition that works to build support for disability culture and inclusion for creatives & industry professionals with disabilities. Tune is as Lachi shares the story of her journey from artist to advocate, recent successes for disability visibility & inclusion, and what changes must still be made.

Now more than ever, it is vital to amplify and celebrate members of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly in an industry like ours where they've had an immeasurable impact. In honor of Pride Month, we discuss the state of queer visibility & representation in the music business, both for artists and executives, with Joshua Dickinson of Queer Capita and Sydney Christensen of Kill Rock Stars!

The financing options available to artists at all levels of their career are much more robust today than they’ve ever been, allowing them to accelerate their exposure and access tools to create music more in-line with their original vision. In our latest podcast, Music Biz President Portia Sabin talks to Andrew Bergman, CEO of Downtown Music Holdings and Alex Heiche, Founder and CEO of Sound Royalties about what’s out there and how to find assistance!

What began as a way for independent record store owners to bolster foot traffic and sales has grown into a shining example of, "if you build it, they will come." In celebration of Record Store Day's 15th anniversary in 2022, Music Biz President Portia Sabin discusses the origins of the event and its affect on the recent resurgence of U.S. vinyl sales with: Brittany Benton, Brittany's Record Shop Carrie Colliton, Record Store Day Larry Jaffee, Making Vinyl Carl Mello, Newbury Comics

From its humble beginnings on Orchard St. in NYC 25 years ago to the use of wide-reaching distribution tools used by artists & their teams across the globe today, The Orchard's mission has not changed in its first quarter-century: work to help indie artists get their music out to the masses. In the latest episode of The Future of What, listen in as The Orchard's Co-Founder, Richard Gottehrer and COO, Colleen Theis discuss the company's past, present and future, as well as how the landscape of music distribution has changed since its inception!

We're excited to bring you the first new episode of The Future of What since 2020! Listen in for expert insights from Beatdapp co-founders, Andrew Batey and Morgan Hayduk, as they discuss the ins-and-outs and different types of fraud which are present in the streaming ecosystem and how they can be detected. Plus, Melissa Morgia from the IFPI (International Federation of the Phonographic Industry)shares perspectives on the impact of streaming fraud outside of the U.S., its effects on music consumers, and international legal rulings setting precedent to protect artists from unlawful actions.

One of the more important pieces of the Music Modernization Act passed in 2018 was the establishment of the Mechanical Licensing Collective. Similar to SoundExchange, the MLC (as it’s commonly referred to) is a third party organization that exists for the purpose of collecting the royalties (mechanical) that are generated from plays on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. In addition to collecting said royalties, the MLC (like Soundexchange) is also responsible for dispersing those royalties to self-publishing artists and publishers alike, who have registered with them, or who have had their info logged by the Harry Fox Agency.

With states opening up more and more spaces to the public, the question on some minds is “When will live music return, and what will it look like once it does?” Can venues enforce social distancing responsibly? Will half capacity be enough to sustain artists, venues and crew financially? What can venues do now to assure that they will survive long enough to re-open down the road? We get answers to these questions and more from the audio taken from a recent MusicBiz Live! session.

Episode #189 : While the long term effects of the COVID-19 quarantine on the music business are yet to be known, there are lots of real-time metrics to be analyzed in the interim. With the postponement of Record Store Day, and most record shops being closed to the public, the effect on physical sales during this time should be obvious to most. The less obvious changes to global music consumption are the ones that are happening in the digital space, particularly around streaming services and music video plays. What genres are booming, and which ones are seeing a decline in listenership in those spaces? Listen now and find out from our panel of experts. Guests: David Bakula (MRC Data) Russ Crupnick (MusicWatch) Sania Haq (AudienceNet) Rutger Rosenborg (Chartmetric)