Music Tectonics

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. The podcast includes news roundups, interviews, and more. Our host is Dmitri Vietze, CEO of PR firm rock paper scissors.

Music Tectonics is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 427 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Unknown Host hosts Music Tectonics, a business show with 427 episodes published.

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  Music Tectonics

  How Music Catalogs Get Valued and Sold

  Aug 19, 202656 min

  What is your music catalog actually worth, and how would you even find out? This week we're on the second stop of our Rising Tide miniseries, tackling catalog valuation, one of the revenue multipliers we're covering ahead of the Music Tectonics Conference this October. First, music lawyer and Instagram creator Ryan Schmidt breaks down how catalogs get valued, the difference between the multiplier method and discounted cash flow analysis, and why an audit can uncover money you didn't know you were owed. We also get into name, image, and likeness rights, AI licensing, and where Ryan thinks the biggest growth opportunities are for artists and songwriters. Then we bring in two companies already working in this space. Sho Mitchell from Beatlibrary walks us through what a catalog valuation tool actually looks like in practice, and Rob Steiner from Luminate shares data on the current state of the catalog acquisition market. If you're a music tech company solving problems like these, come demo on the beach and network with the ecosystem at the Music Tectonics Conference , October 27 to 29 in Santa Monica. The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! Get Dmitri's Rock Paper Scanner newsletter .

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  Music Tectonics

  Revenue Recovery: How to Recover Lost Music Royalties

  Aug 12, 20261h 1m

  There's no lost and found for your royalties. If you don't claim them, they don't come looking for you, and depending on where the money's sitting, you may only have a few years before it's gone for good. This week we kick off a new thread inside our Rising Tide miniseries: the eight revenue multipliers in music. We're starting with revenue recovery, the money that's already been earned but never made it back to the artists, songwriters, and producers who are owed it. We talk to three companies attacking this problem from three different angles. Jason Feinberg, who leads Kosign at Kobalt Music , breaks down why revenue recovery is such a persistent problem in the first place, the fundamentals every artist needs to register (PRO, MLC, SoundExchange), and why an hour spent getting your metadata in order might be the most profitable hour of your career. Jeff Ponchick, co-founder and CEO of Mogul , explains how his company built something like "the Plaid of the music industry," centralizing royalty data across every platform an artist is owed money from, and why up to 50% of artist catalogs are registered incorrectly without anyone realizing it. Rob Brown, chief revenue officer at mprs, zooms into a corner of revenue recovery almost nobody talks about: the master points owed to producers, mixers, engineers, and top line songwriters, and how something as small as an unsigned letter of direction can freeze a producer's income entirely. If you're a music tech company solving problems like these, come demo on the beach and network with the ecosystem at the Music Tectonics Conference , October 27 to 29 in Santa Monica. The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! Get Dmitri's Rock Paper Scanner newsletter .

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  Music Tectonics

  Eight Revenue Multipliers of the Music Industry

  Aug 5, 202653 min

  What's your music catalog actually worth, and where is the industry still leaving money on the table? This week, Dmitri is joined by our chief writer Tristra Newyear Yeager for a deep dive into eight revenue multipliers that they believe can grow the total addressable market for music. Building on last month's conversation with Eleanor about the rising tide thesis, Dmitri and Tristra break down each multiplier one by one: catalog valuation, revenue recovery, artist and label services, licensing, AI licensing, fan growth, fan revenue, and new music products. Along the way, we mention a ton of companies that are actually building in this space right now, so keep an ear out if you're looking for tools to grow your own business. They talk about where catalogs are becoming an investable asset class, why the industry still has multiple black boxes leaking royalty revenue, and how distributors are evolving into full platforms for artists and labels. They also dig into the complicated economics of AI licensing, from training data to generation to the songs that come out the other end, and look at emerging companies working on attribution, revenue recovery, and fan monetization across the space. This episode is part of the Rising Tide miniseries, tied to this year's Music Tectonics Conference theme, Rising Tide: Grow the Music, Grow the Value. The conference takes place October 27 to 29, 2026, in Santa Monica. Companies mentioned: Royaltyport , Beatlibrary , Primordial , Legitary , Luminate , Chartmetric , Viberate , Mogul , MusicInfra , Shine-X , Claimy , Curve Royalty System , AIMS , ONErpm , Orphiq , beatBread , SongStats , Sound Credit , LyricFind , Soundstripe , feed.fm , Soundtrack Your Brand , Merlin Connect , ClicknClear , Musical AI , Vocana , Laylo , Symphony OS , Audience Republic , Rap Fame , OpenStage , Fave , Even , Patreon , Vinyl Bar in Shibuya , Hook , AudioShake , Kitbetter , Tiny Vinyl . The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find show notes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! Get Dmitri's Rock Paper Scanner newsletter .

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  Music Tectonics

  What Multiplies Revenue for Music? (Bonus Episode)

  Aug 3, 202630 min

  We interrupt this miniseries for a special bonus episode! Last week, we laid out a theory on what technology can do to grow the value of music, so this time we wanted to hear from someone who is actually betting billions of dollars on the answer. Sam Hendel is the managing partner of Chord Music Partners, a leading pure play music rights catalog home to works from artists like the Weeknd, David Guetta, OneRepublic, Kid Cudi, Diplo and Fleetwood Mac, and he is deploying serious capital alongside Universal Music Group to acquire more of it. Dmitri and Sam get into how catalogs actually get valued, where the industry is still leaking money through under collected royalties and outdated PRO systems, and why streaming remains the best deal in the world for consumers. They also cover how AI, fandom data, and artist brand extensions could reshape where music revenue grows next, plus the thorny question of AI generated music: why attribution is the real unlock, and what a fair model for paying creators when their work trains or inspires new songs might look like. If you have ever wondered how the people writing nine figure checks for music catalogs think about risk, growth, and the future of the industry, this conversation is for you. The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! Get Dmitri's Rock Paper Scanner newsletter .

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  Music Tectonics

  What If Tech Grows the Music Industry Instead of Disrupting It?

  Jul 29, 202647 min

  That's the question host Dmitri Vietze presents to Vickie Nauman, founder of CrossBorderWorks, in this episode of Music Tectonics. Vickie has spent over two decades at the intersection of music and tech, working on sync licensing for video games and virtual worlds, and pioneering the concept of minimum viable music. This is episode three in the Rising Tide miniseries, built around the theme of this year's Music Tectonics Conference, Rising Tide: Grow the Music, Grow the Value, taking place October 27 to 29, 2026 in Santa Monica. Dmitri and Vickie unpack why technology and the music business have always clashed, why music is usually first to be disrupted by new platforms, and why volume based streaming rewards top artists while leaving mid tier and independent artists behind. They also get into generative AI, AI licensing deals, and why Vickie believes the future of music creation is not human versus AI, but a blend of both. They close out on gaming as an untapped revenue opportunity, why most super fan apps fail to gain traction, and what gives Vickie hope about the next generation of musicians and fans. Topics include music industry trends, music tech, artificial intelligence in music, music streaming, music licensing, sync licensing, gaming and music, and super fan monetization. Get early bird tickets now for the Music Tectonics Conference The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! Get Dmitri's Rock Paper Scanner newsletter .

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