Music Tectonics

This week, we're wrapping up 2025 with something special: three rapid-fire interviews from last month's conference with companies that represent some of the most fascinating developments happening at the intersection of music and tech

First, we'll hear from Rachel Francine of SingFit, who's pioneering music as medicine by bringing therapeutic singing programs to senior living communities 

Next...

As 2025 comes to a close, Dmitri and Tristra look back at the year's most significant music tech stories and what they mean for the industry ahead. 

From AI music settlements and catalog securitization to sustainability initiatives at live music venues and the future of streaming royalty rates, this year-end roundup covers the trends that shaped music and technology in 2025  Dmitri and Tristra discuss Bi...

This week, we're continuing our Conference Conversations series from last month's conference with a panel called "Brands and Creators: Creative Collaborations Everyone Can Agree To."

This panel covers all things brand partnerships, from what makes brands say yes to working with artists, as well as some stories about what not to do.

This panel includes Ryan Roth from Pioneer DJ, Mario Ponce fro...

This week, we're continuing our Conference Conversations series from last month's conference with a panel called "Betting on the Future: Where Investors See Creator Tools Thriving Alongside AI."

In this panel, Andrew Kahn from Yamaha Music Innovation sits down with three venture investors who are actively shaping the future of creative technology: David Ma from Powerhouse Capital, Jason Yeh from Patron, an...

This week, we're continuing our Conference Conversations series from last month's conference with a panel called "Building to Scale: Founders on Building Defensible Companies in the AI Economy."

In this panel, Conor Healy from the Yamaha Music Innovation Fund sits down with Stanley Vergilis from Tone3000, Mauhan Zonoozy from The Vinyl Bar in Shibuya,, and Jessica Powell from AudioShake

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This week on Music Tectonics, we're continuing our Conference Conversations series with highlights from the Music Tectonics Conference. Over the next several weeks, we'll be sharing our favorite discussions, interviews, and panels that capture what's happening right now in music innovation.

Today, we're featuring a conversation with Ethan Millman from the Hollywood Reporter. Ethan breaks down one of the ...

This week on Music Tectonics, we're doing something different. We're kicking off a series of highlights from the Music Tectonics Conference that wrapped up just a couple of weeks ago. Over the next several weeks, we'll be sharing our favorite discussions, interviews, and panels that capture what's happening right now in music innovation.

We start with a conversation recorded at the Shure podcast booth with...

This week as we have just wrapped up the Music Tectonics Conference in person in Santa Monica, I thought I'd do something a little bit different and release a clip from our pre-conference a couple of months ago by Mark Mulligan of MIDiA research called "Crossroads: Streaming's Time to Choose." 

In this keynote, Mark talks about the pressures facing streaming from AI generated content flooding platforms t...

Our guest this week is Neil Sheehan, the president of Vocana, a streaming platform built for independent artists and fans using a user-centric payment model. We talk about how that's different from other streaming platforms, why social features haven't worked on streaming platforms since the days of MySpace, and whether there's room for indie-focused platforms in what feels like a Spotify-dominated world. It's a great ...

Pack your bags, we're going to Tectonics! On this week's episode, our marketing director, Eleanor Rust, turns the tables on Dmitri to talk about the upcoming Music Tectonics conference next week from November 4th through 6th in Santa Monica. We talk about how the conference started, what to expect this year, and more. Whether you're on the fence about going or are planning on going and want the full itinerary, this epi...

This week, we're exploring the future of direct-to-fan commerce with Joshua Stone, the CEO and Co-Founder of Stuff.io and book.io. Josh has some serious backing, including names like Mark Cuban, Snoop Dogg, and Charles Hoskinson, the co-founder of Ethereum just to name a few, and has been working on building Web3 infrastructure that lets artists sell media directly to fans that fans can own and not just rent. We talk a...

This week, Darryl Ballantyne, CEO and Co-founder of LyricFind, discusses the complexities of the music business model and how LyricFind has managed to create new revenue streams by licensing lyrics and developing products like Lyric IQ. We also discuss how they've overcome challenges such as price competition and maintaining product market fit.  This is a great conversation for Startups!

The News!

This week we dive deep into all things music publishing with Monica Corton of Go to Eleven Entertainment. With over 30 years of experience in music publishing, Monica lays a great foundation of how exactly music publishing works, and then we talk about what it looks like today with AI, streaming, legislation, and in some cases, suing major platforms. Whether you're in music publishing or know nothing about music publis...

On this week's episode, Dmitri sits down with Dot Bustelo, a former Apple Logic Pro team member and the innovative mind behind Loupe Art. We talk about everything from a post-it from another innovator that changed everything to the age of creative abundance. It's a blast. 

News!

Gen Z social habits spell trouble for music discovery

Is Music's Mainstream Getting Smaller? A S...

Today, a conversation with Tristra and Mansoor Rahimat Khan, the founder and CEO of Beatoven.ai. an ethically trained music generator that was built in partnership with hundreds of artists. They talk about the inspiration behind Beatoven and dive into the nitty gritty of how and why Beatoven works in collaboration with musicians to secure fully licensed content.

News!

How Visa Issues Are Th...

Today, I chat with Drew Thurlow, a strategist focused on how AI might be democratizing the music industry, rather than destroying it. We talk about how AI is changing everything from the creative process to copyright law, whether or not we should be worried about AI-generated music like the Velvet Sundown, and how AI is being used to surface the most popular songs made by whales in the sea. We also talk about this form...

AI models can truly capture the essence of musical creativity. (Wait. Really?). Join us as Tristra interviews Dr. Christopher White from UMass Amherst about his new book The AI Music Problem: Why Machine Learning Conflicts with Musical Creativity. The two of them get into a really interesting question – Is AI redefining music, or is music reshaping AI? It's a great conversion about the future of music creation.

What makes an artist-brand partnership meaningful, beyond a simple shoutout on social media? Today I talk with Dave Godowsky, a musician who's also worked the other side of the street – in Artist Relations, A&R and with brands that musicians know and love. We talk about how brands can foster authentic artist relationships, the value of word-of-mouth marketing, and how artist feedback can be best used in product develop...

We are rewinding and playing back some of our favorite guests during the month of August and today we have our own Chief Creative Officer from way back when he was the creative force at Artiphon.

Adam McHeffey, CMO of Artiphon, joins us to talk about the state of musical instrument innovation. Instruments like the Orba put music creation at the fingertips of hobbyists, allowing them to focus on enjoyment a...