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
November 20, 2025 • 15 mins
We continue our Trapital Summit series with Dan and MiDIA Research’s Tati Cirisano sharing bold predictions from Trapital Summit attendees and sharing their thoughts.
We debate the long-term viability of major record labels, whether a Netflix + Spotify merger make sense (we recorded this before the podcast partnership!), we also discussed whether we’ll return to mass mainstream monoculture, future growth opportunities, and which n...
Mark as Played
November 13, 2025 • 38 mins
This episode is in partnership and collaboration with our friends at The Recording Academy
You’ll hear our deep dive on what we can learn from this years Grammys with our usual analysis and a few select guests including: Panos Panay (President of The Recording Academy), Tati Cirisano (MIDiA Research), Zack O’Malley Greenburg, author and investor.
We discuss the biggest takeaways from the 2026 nominations, the rise of internationa...
Mark as Played
November 6, 2025 • 25 mins
At our Trapital Summit, Nathan Hubbard joined me in stage to discuss Firebird Music’s investment thesis, working with Yungblud, and the business of Taylor Swift.
CHAPTERS
04:06 Firebird’s Mission
06:46 Yungblud’s Case Study
14:16 Investing in Management Companies
21:03 Finding New Talent
23:34 Is Taylor Swift the Best CEO in Music?
SPONSORS
Chartmetric: Listen in for our Chartmetric Stat of the Week.
Splice: Learn more ...
Mark as Played
October 30, 2025 • 25 mins
We continue our Trapital Summit series with Jason Sklar, a partner at Shamrock Capital, to explore music rights as an asset class, as well as gaming, film, and more. We discuss Shamrock’s perspective, market trends, valuation approaches, the role of AI, and cross-industry opportunities.
02:27 State of Music Rights Investing
09:37 Shamrock’s Investment Approach
16:01 AI, Gaming, and Music
19:39 Why Investing in Film is a B2B B...
Mark as Played
October 23, 2025 • 28 mins
We continued our Trapital Summit series with our talk with Udio CEO Andrew Sanchez and MIDiA Research’s Tati Cirisano. AI is rapidly transforming how music is created, distributed, and experienced. You’ll hear them unpack the challenges and opportunities shaping this new era of sound. From redefining creativity to fostering trust between artists and technology, we explore how collaboration, ethics, and innovation can drive a more e...
Mark as Played
October 16, 2025 • 27 mins
At the Trapital Summit, we were joined by the CEO of VERZUZ, Steve Pamon. His career is all about turning events into big moments, from his time at McKinsey, HBO, NFL, WWE, IMAX, and more. We discussed how major shows scale into franchises, covering team execution, fan value, storytelling, and lessons from Beyoncé, Roger Goodell, and more.
03:50 Story and Execution in Live Events
09:49 Music Industry Challenges
16:23 WWE and I...
Mark as Played
October 9, 2025 • 23 mins
We’re continuing our Trapital Summit series with TuneCore CEO Andreea Gleeson. You’ll hear her and Billboard’s Taylor Mims discuss how TuneCore empowers artists worldwide, how indie artists break through the noise, successes, challenges, and more.
03:48 Wins and Milestones
09:55 Superfans Opportunities
12:57 Future Tools for TuneCore Artists
15:33 Indie Artist Trends
This episode is brought to you by beatBread a music fu...
Mark as Played
October 2, 2025 • 23 mins
We’re continuing our Trapital Summit series. In this episode, we’re with Kakul Srivastava, CEO of Splice, to discuss how technology is reshaping music. From Splice’s acquisition of Spitfire Audio to the rise of AI-powered tools, we explore innovation, M&A lessons learned, and more.
03:51 Acquiring Spitfire Audio
10:24 Product and Data-Driven Growth
16:47 Royalty-Free Tradeoffs
20:22 Future of AI
This episode is brought to ...
Mark as Played
September 25, 2025 • 23 mins
We’re continuing our Trapital Summit recap series. In today’s episode, you’ll hear my conversation with Oliver Schusser, VP of Apple Music and International Content, to explore Apple’s journey in music. We dive into the state of music streaming, AI ‘s impact , and Apple’s partnerships in sports and live content.
02:46 From iTunes to Apple Music
01:39 Focusing on Music
08:41 Apple Music Growth and Subscribers
11:40 AI
14:49 H...
Mark as Played
September 18, 2025 • 20 mins
We’re kicking off our Trapital Summit recap series. In today’s episode, you’ll hear my conversation with Elliot Grainge, CEO of Atlantic Music Group.
This was Elliot’s first public talk since becoming CEO in October 2024.
We discuss his response to the fanfare around the Warner Music Group transition, Elliot’s experience selling 10K Projects, and adapting the 10K playbook for superstars like Bruno Mars and Ed Sheeran. We dig into...
Mark as Played
September 15, 2025 • 42 mins
In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of last week’s second annual Trapital Summit.
Listen to me and Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research break down what went into the event. From the NeueHouse bankruptcy to speaker selection, key moments, feedback from guests, curating the right room, and plenty more.
01:13 A Last-Minute Surprise
09:40 Curating the Room
12:05 Programming Decisions
25:45 AI and Industry Trends
36:43 ...
Mark as Played
August 29, 2025 • 9 mins
Our Trapital Summit is Wednesday, September 10 in Los Angeles! Get your tickets here.
Today's mini-episode is a breakdown on The Weeknd's $1 billion music rights financing goals and whether it is worth that massive price tag. I also share a few words on the late Peter Sinclair, CEO and co-founder of beatBread.
How Much Is The Weeknd's Music Really Worth? - Trapital
Trapital Summit 2025
Mark as Played
August 7, 2025 • 17 mins
Trapital Summit is on Sep 10 in LA. Join us! Get your tickets here.
The major record labels are adapting for the modern era. Lately, that shift has them looking less like RCA and more like KKR. These companies have invested less in signing new artists and more in acquiring the legendary back catalog of music. With streaming driving steady royalties, the music rights of proven hits are valuable. Music companies have teamed up with ...
Mark as Played
July 30, 2025 • 18 mins
In this solo episode, we dive into the most valuable music catalogs in the world, and what makes them stand out. From Queen and Michael Jackson’s deals and more, we explore why the top catalogs fetch massive multiples and how they operate at unique financial and cultural assets.
03:19 Iconic Catalogs
07:07 Music Biopics
08:32 How Genres Imoact Catalog Value
13:07 Future of Music Rights
Trapital Summit is on Wednesday Septe...
Mark as Played
July 23, 2025 • 39 mins
In this episode, we’re revisiting our deep dive on James Dolan’s Sphere in Las Vegas. The Backstreet Boys residency at the Sphere. As we predicted on our 2025 Live Music Draft, the boy band’s apperance at the Vgas spectacle would exceed expectations. So I talk about that before I jump into the episode.
Then I’m joined by MIDiA Research’s Tati Cirisano for our deep dive on the mult-billion dollar vision and future of The Sphere.
...
Mark as Played
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...
Mark as Played
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...
Mark as Played
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...
Mark as Played
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...
Mark as Played
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:...
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com