Innovating Music

Mike Butera has gone on some intriguing journeys, connecting music performance passions, philosophy and sound studies, and tech in creating new musical instruments for regular people to get into music. He shares his path to launching Artiphon after years in academic circles, ways he learned how to market new devices and thrive with Kickstarter, and how the adventure is going so far as they get ready to release the Chorda in late 2023. Guest: Dr. Mike Butera, Founder & CEO, ArtiphonDr. Mike Butera is the founder & CEO of Artiphon, a music tech company designing smart instruments that anyone can play. Mike received his Ph.D. in Sound Studies from Virginia Tech and was a professor of Sociology and Philosophy for 6 years. Prior to founding Artiphon, Mike was a consumer electronics product designer, a touring musician, and a public speaker in music & technology. What are you most passionate about with your current work? : Inspiring people to be musical for just a minute every day!Links:https://ar

Jason Kramer shares his journey to being an EMT during the AIDS Epidemic, LA Riots, and Northridge Earthquake to Fox Sports to KLOS and KCRW. He talks about the magic of Sunday nights, how he created and drove his own luck through persistent work, asking for opportunities, and taking on new challenges. He shares a bit of his experience being present during the inception of Billie Eilish, including being in the opening scene of her documentary and playing himself in three movies. Jason discusses his various creative pursuits, including photography, directing videos, and teaching.Guest: Jason Kramer, KCRW DJ, Music Supervisor, Photographer, and EducatorFor the last 20 years, Jason Kramer has been in the field of music and radio. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Kramer worked as an EMT during the late 80s and early 90s; and through the 1992 Los Angeles riots. After changing his career as a medic in the hard streets of LA for ten years, he decided to work in radio starting in 1992 on KLOS, screenin

Jordy Freed from Sony Corporation of America shared his journey from jazz saxophone and building websites to public relations and marketing. Twists and turns took him to radio, Blue Note, Grey Advertising, and finally to Sony. He shares the stories of his twists and turns and the challenges of managing and growing diverse brands.  Jordy talks about what he's excited about now and what is changing the workflow of creators.Guest: Jordy Freed, Head of Partner Marketing & Strategy, Brand & Business Development, Video & Sound Products, Sony Corporation of AmericaAs the Head of Partner Marketing & Strategy, Brand & Business Development, Video & Sound Products at Sony Corporation of America, Jordy Freed leads marketing, business development, and communication strategy for the multinational company. A talented sax player who considered becoming a professional musician, the Philly native got his start as a publicist for the jazz firm DL Media, held marketing and PR roles at Blue Note,

Michael Huppe, CEO of SoundExchange, fell in love with IP and came into music through law. He had played keyboard and trombone as a young person and ended up at the Recording Industry Association of America, which led him to SoundExchange. He shares how SoundExchange is also a tech company, needing to help and represent its members with opportunities from new technologies, as well as providing a system's backbone for a growing streaming music industry.Guest: Mike Huppe, President and CEO, SoundExchangeMichael Huppe is the President and Chief Executive Officer of SoundExchange, where he champions creators and spearheads the use of technology, data, and advocacy to power the future of music. Whether he is leading efforts to launch new lines of business or advocating on the steps of Capitol Hill for creator-first legislation, every aspect of Michael’s work is undertaken on behalf of SoundExchange’s larger mission: to ensure that creators are compensated fairly, efficiently, and accurately for their work. To dat

Dave Ratner moved from skiing to managing bands into law, and now works with creative companies out of Boulder, CO to understand how to maneuver so many different new opportunities in music.  He talks of innovation in his own life as to how to add capabilities, learn by doing, and then add that in with great creatives. He shares wisdom in how to evaluate risk, plan for success, and use both common sense and contracts to decide what innovations to pursue and how to understand the questions under the legal hood. Guest: David Ratner, Managing Partner of Creative Law Network Following a career in the music businesses as a tour manager, publicist, band manager, and founder of his own management agency, Dave Ratner is now the Managing Partner of Creative Law Network, a boutique entertainment law firm in Colorado. Dave counsels clients throughout the music industry on everything from contracts and licensing, to intellectual property registration and protection, to dispute resolution. He is a graduate of Cornell Univ

Many of our guests move on a nonlinear line between jobs and ideas.  Kevin in one of our few guests who has been with a single company -- CD Baby -- for a long period of time.  He shares his journey with both CD Baby and as an artist with Small Town Poets.  We talk about challenges exploring new technologies that don't yet have revenue models, educating creators on how to better engage and focus, and producing the long-time CD Baby Podcast with more than 300 episodes.     Guest: Kevin Breuner, CD Baby’s SVP of Engagement & Education   CD Baby’s SVP of Engagement & Education, Kevin Breuner, has spent over 25 years working in the music business, both as a recording artist and an industry professional. A San Diego native, Kevin went east to attend Belmont University in Nashville, TN where he studied Music and Music Business. After college he joined the Atlanta-based band Smalltown Poets who later signed a recording contract with a major label under the EMI umbrella. Their self-titled debut al

Jessica's journey -- what a ride!  Music change agent Jessica Powell shares her Roads Taken, ranging from following a now-ex boyfriend across countries to using her languages at CISAC and on a wild boar farm (!!) -- to Google London, Google Asia, and to her current AI and Stems startup, AudioShake.   And even that founding with her co-founder Luke Miner began as a "What If" exercise around bass lines and karaoke, before landing with Billy Mann and peermusic to experiment with AIs and stems to create a next-generation stem separation platform for artists and new creative technologies.  We ran into her at Music Tectonics' annual conference as AudioShake won the "Swimming with Narwhals" Tech Startup Pitch Competition, the latest in a recent series of wins for this new company. Guest: Jessica Powell, CEO and Co-Founder, AudioShake Jessica Powell is the CEO and co-founder of AudioShake, which uses AI to separate songs into instrumentals and stems so that they can be opened up for new opportunities in sync licensin

We are in post-production on new episodes, so our host, Gigi Johnson, shared a story about "Postcards" and Postcard Moments that has come up in prior episodes and in many recent conversations. She shares how a single postcard created a pivot that changed her direction when a TA offered the suggestion that she apply for USC Film School after a single class. She challenges us to explore "postcards" in our lives -- both given and offered. She also suggests that postcards are all over past episodes, which we'll call out with additional content in the future. Mentioned: Happenstance Theory - Krumboltz, J. D. (2009). The Happenstance Learning Theory. Journal of Career Assessment, 17, 135-154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1069072708328861 Example article: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/careers/2019/04/30/how-planned-happenstance-can-help-your-career/ NextCareer.me resources: https://nextcareer.me   Find Innovating Music on your favorite player: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/innovating-m

Bruno shares his saga from playing the drums and enjoying international music, mixing songs and culture from Tunisia, France, and LA. Those facets led to studying at UCLA Ethnomusicology, becoming a DJ at KCRW, and building a record label in his living room. He shared work in place-based music and compilation records, in building the sonic architecture of hotels, vacations, and clothing brands -- creating soundtracks to vacations and lifestyles. His own independent label became his inspiration to work to streamlining the complexity of running a music label. His work in Filemaker Pro and Salesforce for his own company became the early stages of the 2015 go-to-market for Revelator. He became a “product guy,” helping labels in many regions with streaming music processing and accelerating catalog valuation and fractionalization processes. We closed with discussions from Web3 -- moving from an information-based to a value-based Internet -- and new types of marketplaces and tokenized economies that will go beyond w

[Enjoy our podcast this week that we share with our sister Maremel Network podcast, Creative Innovators.] Dick Huey claims that his career jumps have been "educated luck."  "Because they they are luck. And I'm, I'm I don't ever pretend that I have more information than everybody else does. But I think I'm good at identifying opportunity. So for me, this felt like opportunity. And I jumped at it. And then of course that launched a 25-year career in digital music."  And so Dick shares with us his 25-year career, ranging from teaching software applications to getting his first music management client to building his digital music chops at Beggars Group to building Toolshed.  He works now on his three-legged stool of interests: helping big picture enhancements of the music business, working with record companies, and engaging in ed tech and new technologies. Guest: Dick Huey, Founder/President, Toolshed Dick Huey moved to New York City in 1997 to work for independent label powerhouse the Beggars Group (XL Record

Morgan Hayduk initially aimed for basketball and law -- and thank goodness kept going into building new tools and working with large organizations to fight fraud and manipulation in streaming music.  He shares with us his adventures in building his personal Toolkit of marketing, scaling, and selling -- plus working with his blockchain wizard co-founders -- to launch the audit and anti-fraud muscle of Beatdapp.  He shares what could be a great primer on the challenges of blockchain in music and why a million somethings can seem important for a startup. Guest: Morgan Hayduk, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Beatdapp Morgan Hayduk is the Co-CEO and Co-Founder of Beatdapp, an entertainment technology company. Ranked #2 startup in Canada and Top 20 Music Companies globally by TechCrunch, Beatdapp is building digital supply chain infrastructure for the streaming economy. Prior to founding Beatdapp, Hayduk led enterprise growth and partnerships for ZipRecruiter (NYSE:ZIP), was the Director of Federal Government Relations for

Enjoy this final episode where Jack Conte blends the worlds of music creation (Pomplamoose and  Scary Pockets) and solving creators’ problems with systems (crowdfunding and community with Patreon).  He shares how he balances (or doesn’t balance at times) creating music with running a large tech business.  He also shares what he has learned, how his companies have shifted with the work-from-home world shift, and how he has changed/staffed his own creative processes in this distributed era.  His career journey has been an interesting mingling of music and science/technology, all the way back to his science teacher who got him interested (who he still connected with monthly over Costco pizza).  Guest: Jack Conte, CEO and Co-Founder of Patreon; band member of Pomplamoose and Stray Pockets Jack Conte is a musician, filmmaker, half of band Pomplamoose and Scary Pockets, and a co-founder at Patreon, a membership platform that makes it easy for creators to earn salaries directly from their biggest fans. Patreon was

This week on the Innovating Music Podcast, we are joined by Ted Cohen, who shared tales of doing things for the right reasons and seeing decades ago the dimensions of our current music streaming playlists and challenges.  He talks about genuineness of artists vs. overproduction in livestreaming and concerts, pricing the risks of new markets, scarcity, negotiations, how business challenges repeat, and how some people don’t see or know the past launches in their very own businesses.  He shares his search and joy for things that are “effing amazing” as a whole with elegant execution.  And he shares the joy of paying it forward from those who got him started as mentors. Guest: Ted Cohen, Head of Development, Mediatech Ventures; Managing Partner, TAG Strategic Known as “part connector/part evangelist/always a futurist,” Ted Cohen is Managing Partner of TAG Strategic, an LA-based digital entertainment consultancy. Additionally, Ted is Head of Corporate Development for Mediatech.Ventures, the Austin-based VC/incub

A year ago, Dmitri Vietze launched a new thought leadership conference on music technology in Los Angeles, and had to move it with one day's notice.  This year, he has moved his whole thought leadership with Music Tectonics online with virtual conferences and community gatherings.  He shares his thoughts on crisis-driven shifts to music livestreaming, expanding new releases, and digital access, along with tidbits on intriguing companies in this current listen-from-home era.    Guest: Dmitri Vietze, CEO and Founder, rock paper scissors Dmitri Vietze is the Founder and CEO of rock paper scissors, inc. It was his crazy idea to transform a global music PR firm into what has become a predominant music tech PR firm. Dmitri is a regular presenter at SXSW Music, SF MusicTech, Music Biz, APAP, and WOMEX. He is also the founder and CEO of StoryAmp.com. He has a jaw harp collection, can juggle five balls, and has a titanium leg. Mentioned Links: Rock paper scissors website: http://hello.rockpaperscissors.biz/ Music

This week on the Innovating Music Podcast, we talk with Music Business Association President, Portia Sabin about the ways in which the music business is connected as a community. We discuss her journey through the music industry from performing as an artist to running a record label. We also look at other aspects of the music business and how they have been affected in light of the pandemic. This includes trade associations and their advantages for independent labels especially during the pandemic, and other ways in which cities can centralize their local music businesses to connect the music community at large.   Guest: Portia Sabin, President of Music Business Association Dr. Portia Sabin is the President of the Music Business Association.  While working on her Ph.D. at Columbia University, she played drums, recorded, and toured with NYC band The Hissyfits. She founded Shotclock Management in 2004 and took over running the legendary independent label, Kill Rock Stars, in 2006. She is the host of a radio

Innovation often answers the call to action made by changing environments. In this week’s podcast, we talk with Jay Gilbert, photographer and co-founder of Label Logic, about the new challenges artists in the music industry face in light of social-distancing and what their “new normal” will be as the world regains its rhythm. We look at new models for artist-fan engagement such as blended venues of live-streaming and live shows, as well as tools such as Bandsintown, Stageit, Bandzoogle, and Patreon. We also discuss the advantages of utilizing such platforms in terms of building new engagement metrics based on individuals rather than aggregate data and how this aids artists in strengthening and expanding their fanbases. Guest: Jay Gilbert, Co-Founder, Label Logic; Photographer As a teenager in the Pacific Northwest, Jay smuggled his Canon F-1 into rock concerts to get the perfect shot of the likes of Queen, Van Halen and Cheap Trick. After college, he toured as a musician gaining invaluable experience in wha

In this week’s podcast, Stefan Schulz, CEO and co-founder of Bitfury Surround, joins us to discuss the potential of blockchain technology for connecting not just content, but data and new value chains for content. Coming from a rich background at the intersection of music, business and evolving technology, Stefan explains why now is the time to decentralize the way we track ownership data and the countless opportunities to be unlocked. Guest: Stefan Shulz, Co-founder and CEO of Bitfury Surround Stefan Schulz is the CEO and co-founder of Bitfury Surround. He has been working in the music industry for more than 20 years, pioneering the use of technology for the benefit of artists. In 2001, Stefan became a founding member of Universal Mobile, a Vivendi business unit that went on to dominate the mobile music market. Later, while working in Universal Music’s Digital Business in Central and Eastern Europe, he was in charge of milestone deals with large players such as Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Nokia, Verisign,

Technology transforms the way in which we view opportunities and often creates new ones. This week on the Innovating Music Podcast, we rethink learning and education in music with UCLA alumnus Akira Nakano, the President and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Inception Orchestra. We look through the lens of applying virtual reality technology paired with original composition to the creation of educational programs that engage with local artist communities, and that bring music to underrepresented areas. Guest: Akira Nakano, President and Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Inception Orchestra Akira Nakano grew up at the Colburn School of Performing Arts in both piano and percussion, soloing with numerous orchestras throughout Southern California as a youngster. He studied with Dr. Heewon Kwon with master classes from Jeffrey Kahane, Leon Fleischer, Ilana Vered, John Perry and Daniel Pollack. He was the winner of the 1st Annual Herbert Zipper Award in Music Composition amongst other piano competitions. En

Adaptation is key when it comes to technology and innovation. In this week’s podcast, we discuss how technology evolves to fit the ever-changing dynamic between artists and their fan-bases with Fabrice Sergent, the co-founder and CEO of Bandsintown. We look at new ways in which Bandsintown supports its artists with new features such as WatchLive and a recent partnership with Twitch. We also discuss the shift in livestream viewing trends which have increased dramatically and what this means for artists and digital platforms. Guest: Fabrice Sergent, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Bandsintown Group Based in New York, Fabrice is an entrepreneur with experiences in the music and tech industries. He has spent 10 years in Europe and 13 years in the US, leading 2 start-ups from inception to over $100m in revenue. Fabrice is also a director of the Mobile Giving Foundation since 2009, serving 800 charities in the US and Canada. Fabrice launched his first start-up as Founder and CEO of Club-Internet in 1995, one of

Circumstances can spark innovation when changing work environments require new solutions. This week on the Innovating Music Podcast, we talk with Michael Gitig of G-Technology about the transformation of digital workflows and how his operation has transformed to connect "create from home" film, TV, and music creators. During the state orders to work from home, they had to close up their Hollywood community studio location and totally rethink their delivery of tech workflow services. They really have become the bridge to connect disparate technologies in this work-from-home era for digital creators.  Michael shared many changes being made by creators and companies and the lasting effects these innovations may have on future workflows and work environments. Guest: Michael Gitig, Commander of Intergalactic Business Development, G-Technology Michael Gitig is a former music + entertainment industry worker turned tech intra- and entrepreneur.  He has worked in business & strategic development, marketing, product m