Musonomics

In this episode of Musonomics: why are more and more music industry insiders looking to Blockchain technology as a solution to the metadata problem? What really is the Blockchain? And why is it so important? These are just some of the questions host Larry Miller of NYU Steinhardt, and co-host Carmen Cuesta Roca will unpack. The episode features PledgeMusic founder Benji Rogers, who is evangelizing a comprehensive database of music metadata on the Blockchain. Singer-songwriter Imogen Heap sheds light on the potential for accurate and intricate metadata. And Bill Rosenblatt of Giant Steps Media Technology Strategies explains that industry-wide standards are key to the metadata problem, but the complexity of the music industry and its vast number of stakeholders will make those standards difficult to achieve.

In this episode of Musonomics: why are music startups struggling to thrive, or even simply survive? Larry Miller of NYU Steinhardt heeds several perspectives to understand why the space for music startups is so unforgiving, and what music startups can do to be successful. Cortney Harding discusses the recent slowdown in the music startup space. Edward Ginis and his business partner Brady Brim-DeForest, share of their success with their own startup, OpenPlay -- one of the lucky ones able to spin out of a major independent label. David Pakman of Venrock explains why his firm has never invested in a digital media company. Jon Vanhala, formerly of Universal Music and now at Crossfade Partners, offers insight into who can be blamed for the fact that music startups are finding it so hard to make money. Finally, we hear from Michael Dorf, who turned away from the internet business and is now generating more profit than ever through live music experiences at his City Wineries across the country.

In this episode of Musonomics: what's driving the resurgence of vinyl. Larry Miller of NYU Steinhardt looks up the production line to see how the format is maturing, and what's holding it back from even faster growth. Josh Friedlander, the RIAA.s data guy, talks about the continued growth of vinyl in the age of streaming. Billy Fields, the vinyl guy at Warner Music Group, chats with us about whether vinyl is heading for a plateau. And Eric Astor of Furnace Manufacturing takes us into the factory and through the manufacturing process from finished audio file to a pristine, pressed, perfect vinyl record.

In this episode of Musonomics, Larry Miller takes a look at how the copyright and royalty payment system is failing a new generation of songwriters. Ari Leff, a developing songwriter/producer who records as LAUV, and Nashville songwriter Brett James, who has written huge hits for Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney and Martina McBride, share the struggles of modern songwriters. We take a look back at how the collective licensing system was put in place -- and how the Consent Decrees that govern ASCAP and BMI fail to protect the economic interests of songwriters in the modern music-consumption landscape. With ASCAP's Clara Kim, music attorney Chris Castle and The New Yorker's John Seabrook, this episode is packed with expert analysis and insight into how our antiquated music copyright system is breaking down -- and how we might start to mold a better future for American songwriters.

Presidential politics is in the air! Hot on the heels of Super Tuesday we delve into the world of presidential campaign music. We take a trip back in time to look at how music has been used in American presidential campaigns from Washington to Obama and beyond, with lessons from the current election cycle. With Ben Sisario of the New York Times on the impact that music can have on a presidential campaign, and entertainment lawyer Joel Schoenfeld and NYU Law School Professor Christopher Sprigman on what happens when music is used without the artist's and songwriter's permission.

Super Bowl 50 is this weekend, and on this episode of Musonomics, NYU Steinhardt Professor Larry Miller examines music's relationship to the NFL's biggest day. We'll take a look back at some classic ads to see how and why the Super Bowl became so important to advertisers, and Josh Rabinowitz of Grey Advertising sheds light on how music works in Super Bowl ads. Then it's on to the halftime show and a chat with Ed Christman of Billboard about the show's marketing power -- and how a half time show performance drives the sale of records, downloads and streams.

2015 was a year of change and unexpected record breaking. In our final episode of the year Larry Miller of NYU Steinhardt talks with Neil Shah of the Wall Street Journal about the three biggest and most important music industry stories of 2015: Adele and the unbelievable success of 25; the multitude of streaming services that launched this year, and a call for revision of arcane music licensing laws from the U.S. Copyright Office.

Recording studios used to be the place where music was written and produced, but since the '90s their role in the production has seen a dramatic decrease. In this episode of Musonomics, we take a look at the state of the modern recording studio. We talk to producers and studio veterans from both coasts about the technological advances, changes in production methods, and ever-shifting musical styles that have made for tough times at recording studios. Dave Amlen of MSR Studios tells us how facilities in New York survived and how hip hop helped. Finally, we chat with John Seabrook, author of The Song Machine, about the new way hits are made and the small group of producers from Stockholm making them happen.

Season 2 of The Musonomics Podcast kicks off with episode 8, "YouTube is the Big Red Elephant in the Music Industry's Room." We've talked on previous shows about the streaming wars; Spotify vs Tidal vs Apple Music vs Deezer vs an ever-growing list of new faces -- but there's one streaming service with user numbers that dwarf the competition, and it isn't any of those names. In just 10 years, YouTube has become not only the biggest video streaming service in the world, but the biggest music streaming service in the world. But how did YouTube become so huge, and what's next for the streaming giant? How how will YouTube continue to impact the music industry? To find out, we look back to 2005 and trace YouTube's explosive growth over the past 10 years. Then we chat with media analyst Rich Greenfield about what all that growth and power means for the music industry, and what to expect from YouTube in the coming years. Then finally, we take a quick look at YouTubeRed, the streaming giant's new subscription service

In this episode of Musonomics, Larry Miller looks at the lack of information transparency in the music industry. Why do artists still get indecipherable paper reports from labels and music services in the digital age, and how do we know those reports are accurate? Why is it so hard to get easy answers to simple questions about royalty rates and royalty payments? Grammy Award-winning composer and big band leader Maria Schneider shares how the lack of transparency drove her to take her music off the internet and Jeff Price of Audiam and Revelator's Bruno Guez outline the byzantine complexity of the music industry's royalty payment systems.

Bonnaroo and EDM are the focus of the second half of our two-part series on the state of the summer music festival. In this episode, Larry Miller talks with Jonathan Mayers of Superfly Productions and Jonathan Azu of Red Light Management about the inception and astounding growth of Bonnaroo. Billboard's Ray Waddell gives us some analysis on opportunities for growth in the saturated festival space, and EDM expert Robby Towns tells us what sets EDM festivals apart.

In part one of our two-part series on the business evolution of summer music festivals, Larry Miller interviews George Wein, founder of the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals. On the 50th anniversary of when Bob Dylan "went electric" and the 60th anniversary of Miles Davis' debut, 90-year old impresario George Wein shares vivid memories and important insights on the people, musical moments and the business influence of his summer music festivals.

In preparation and celebration of the launch of Apple Music, we take a look back at Apple's prosperous relationship with music from the first iPod ad through to last month's WWDC keynote and launch announcement. We've got a ton of great guests. Josh Friedlander of the RIAA chats with us about the emergence of the streaming industry, and artist manager Emily White gives us insight into Apple's relationship with artists. Dick Huey of the Toolshed marketing agency sheds light on what stats to watch, and David Pakman, a partner at Venrock, sits down for a chat about what success will look like for Apple Music.

What even is a mixtape anymore? To figure it out, we take a look back at how the mixtape was born and what it has evolved into. Then, Alyse Howard of The Urban Coin brings us a special report about Nipsey Hussle, the Wu-Tang Clan and artificial scarcity. And Billboard Senior Editor Gail Mitchell, chats with Larry Miller about what it means to make and distribute a mixtape in the current hip-hop landscape and the mixtape's economic role in the music industry.

In our second episode we take a look at Tidal, Jay-Z's newest headline grabber, and the state of the industry segment that Tidal is trying to conquer. Tom Silverman of Tommy Boy talks about how we'll get to a $100 billion music business. Larry Rosin of Edison Research explains how music streaming consumption is actually evolving. And we learn about the music licensing value gap with YouTube from Alex Jacobs of the IFPI.

This week we will take a close look at the vinyl resurgence and music's newest quasi-holiday, Record Store Day, which falls this year on Saturday, April 18. You'll hear from James Donio of the Music Business Association about how the vinyl resurgence came about. Michael Kurtz, the founder of Record Store Day, will talk with us about how Record Store Day got started, how it affects the vinyl pressing industry, and how Record Store Day became an international phenomenon. Finally, you will hear from entertainment industry analyst Russ Crupnick of MusicWatch about the future of vinyl, its role in the music ecosystem and the willingness of consumers to pay for music.