Trapital
Trapital is where technology meets culture. Hear breakdowns on the most important trends in tech, media, and entertainment. Trapital founder Dan Runcie and various guests break down the moves that shape the rest of society. Learn more
Episodes
July 15, 2025 • 25 mins
It’s harder than ever to breaking through the noise, but navigating YouTube may be a prerequisite to even have a chance.
In this episode, I’m joined by YouTube’s Director of Black Music & Culture, Tuma Basa. He returns to reflect on the platform’s evolution and the ongoing relationship between curators and the algorithms they rely on to reach the masses.
03:23 The YouTube Advantages
12:42 Global Music Trends
16:29 Community Eng...
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July 10, 2025 • 3 mins
This is the room for the leaders shaping what's next in music, entertainment, and technology. It's Wednesday, September 10 at NeueHouse Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA.
Register now. Early bird pricing ends July 24, two weeks from today.
You'll hear from:
Elliot Grainge, CEO, Atlantic Music Group
Steve Pamon, CEO, Verzuz | Board Member, IMAX
Erin Teague, CPO, Character.ai
Kakul Srivastava, CEO, Splice
Andr...
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July 3, 2025 • 18 mins
This episode’s a bit different, no guests. I’m going solo to break down a big topic. For record labels, the market share they have relative to peers drives major decisions both macro and micro. They spend a lot to maintain that position. Is it all worth it?
01:33 Market Share’s Financial Impact
05:49 Challenges & Critiques
07:21 Cross-Industry Parallels
12:54 Indies vs. Majors
Trapital Summit is on Wednesday September 10 i...
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June 23, 2025 • 38 mins
Now that the dust has settled on Taylor Swift’s music rights saga, what’s next?
We unpacked the financial impact of all the transactions on key players like Scooter Braun, Scott Borchetta, Shamrock Capital, and Swift herself. While all of those parties made a lot more money, we took a deeper look into the potential losers over the years. And lastly, we tackle an important question: how will history remember this?
Join me and Ta...
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June 12, 2025 • 32 mins
We’re joined by AWAL CEO Lonny Olinick. In the episode, we broke down why artist development still matters, how AWAL merges traditional record label services with its distribution business, giving artists creative freedom, global reach, and real ownership to AWAL’s artist-first approach often beats major label deals, what it means to be part of the Sony Music family, and how the future of music is being rewritten—deal by deal.
00:...
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June 5, 2025 • 30 mins
Hip-hop’s has had an outsized impact in fashion for decades, but where are we today? In this episode, I am joined by Fashion Killa author
Sowmya Krishnamurthy. We unpack hip-hop’s relationship with fashion, how these partnerships have evolved, where they stand in 2025, and what we want to see more of.
01:41 Hip-Hop’s Cultural Impact vs. Sales Metrics
11:37 Nostalgia and the Evolution of Celebrity
23:22 The Future of Hip-Hop in H...
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May 29, 2025 • 32 mins
American music still dominate the global stage, despite the world going local.
In this episode, I am joined by former chief economist at Spotify, Will Page. We explore the powerful global influence of American music and what it reveals about culture, commerce, and control in the streaming era.
From top-down industry power to bottom-up grassroots movements, we unpack how hits spread, why the U.S. music market is still growing desp...
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May 12, 2025 • 40 mins
There are billions of videos uploaded to the internet daily. They all need the right music or sound effect. Many of them rely on Epidemic Sound to make that happen.
In this episode, I’m joined by Oscar Hoglund, co-founder and CEO of Epidemic Sound. We dive into how Epidemic Sound uses AI to enhance music discovery while ensuring fair compensation for artists through a unique revenue model. Oscar also shares valuable insights on in...
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May 8, 2025 • 35 mins
Is the global market headed for another shake-up?
In this episode, we unpack the rising uncertainty in international trade and finance—from shifting geopolitical alliances to unexpected tariffs and policy pivots. What does this mean for businesses, investors, and everyday consumers? Tune in as Billboard’s Senior Finance Correspondent, Liz Dilts Marshall and I break down the trends, the tensions, and what might come next in the glo...
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May 5, 2025 • 37 mins
In this episode, we’re shaking things up with our very first Live Music Draft 2025!
Joined by MIDiA Research’s Tati Cirisano, we’re drafting our top music festivals, stadium tours, arena tours, concert residencies, over-performers, and under-performers of the year!
02:30 Music Festivals
09:21 Stadium Tours
14:04 Arena Tours (First Timers)
22:00 Vegas Residencies
25:07 Overperformers
28:53 Underperformers
29:51 Market Moves
...
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May 1, 2025 • 35 mins
There are millions of companies worldwide that use personal music streaming accounts for their businesses’ music. But if those companies had the business-level streaming they should, it would add billions of annual revenue to the industry. So why isn’t this a priority?
Well, it’s a priority for today’s guest, Ola Sars. He’s the founder and CEO of Soundtrack, which has been solving this problem for ten years. His business spun out ...
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April 28, 2025 • 39 mins
Everyone’s talking about “superfans,” but artist management companies have been focused on their top fans for quite some time. We sat down with Jonathan Daniel from Crush Music. They manage Green Day, Miley Cyrus, Sia, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, Train, and others.
We talk about Coachella, touring strategies, how they use data, business ventures and more. I also ask JD about acquisition offers, why they focus on rock and pop acts, and a...
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April 24, 2025 • 37 mins
Let’s cut through the noise and get real about what it takes to build a sustainable business on the world’s biggest video platform.
Joining me are Ten2 Media founders Donna Budica and George Karalexis, who help artists like Benson Boone and Brent Faiyaz maximize YouTube. ****We dive into insights on how artists can take advantage of the YouTube ecosystem.
Whether you're an artist, content creator, or curious about what really drive...
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April 19, 2025 • 38 mins
It’s time for a Trapital Mailbag! We dive into hot topics like the Coachella’s payment plan debate, Tubi’s strategy under Fox, Meta vs the FTC, Lucian Grainge’s tenure at UMG, and a special section on how we use AI tools at Trapital!
00:55 Coachella Payment Plans
07:07 Tubi's Long-Term Strategy
15:42 Lucian Grange's Impact on UMG
26:14 Meta and the FTC: A Legal Battle
29:47 AI Tools for Trapital
Trapital Summit tickets here: earl...
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April 14, 2025 • 18 mins
Our episode today is a two-parter. I start at the top with my take on TikTok.
We then transition to our partner spotlight!
Part 1: The April 4 deadline has passed, and there’s still no deal on TikTok. The app got caught in the middle of the U.S. - China trade war and the ongoing tariffs. How will this all play out?
Part 2: I’m joined by beatBread’s CEO Peter Sinclair as we discuss the company’s Deal Comparison Tool and how it he...
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April 10, 2025 • 36 mins
It’s Data Week at Trapital and for part 2 in this week’s episode, we take a closer look at Spotify’s economic structure and the platform’s evolving role in the music industry.
Spotify’s Head of Marketing & Policy for Music, Sam Duboff joins me as we take insights from the company’s Loud and Clear report, we explore how money flows through the system, what it means for both major and independent artists, and the ongoing conversation...
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April 7, 2025 • 32 mins
It’s Data Week at Trapital! In 2024, music streaming revenue growth slowed down, but not for everyone! MIDiA Research’s Mark Mulligan joins me to break down the compaby’s annual report and the latest trends. How will the rise of the global south shape the industry? Which sectors of the “indie” market are actually growing? Will expanded rights be the next big thing?
03:18 MIDiA Research’s Recorded Music Report
08:57 Expanded Rights...
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April 3, 2025 • 29 mins
Is Apple Music shaping the future of streaming, or is it just playing catch-up?
In this episode, we discuss the past ten years of Apple Music, its role in music streaming, and whether it’s more important to the music business than it is to Apple overall.
Join me and Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research as we break down the moves that led to this point, the exclusives, its stalled growth in recent years, and how it fits into Apple’s br...
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March 31, 2025 • 34 mins
The most influential conversations about your industry might be from an anonymous commenters who is validated by hundreds of upvotes on popular subreddit thread.
Join me and Dr. Marcus Collins, the award-winning marketer, author, and friend of the pod, as we discuss the significant cultural influence of Reddit, its evolution as a community of subcultures, and how the business has evolved.
02:08 Reddit as a Market Research Tool
04:...
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March 25, 2025 • 30 mins
In today’s entertainment landscape, with more platforms and formats than ever, do true moguls still exist? If we’re being honest, they may have more power today than ever before.
From Lew Wasserman’s Hollywood dominance, to Ted Turner’s cable news empire, to today’s tech titans, we explore how these power players shaped the industry, and who might be next in line.
Join me and Web Barr, Founder and CEO of Hi Barr Media. Web recently...
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