Enjoy this final episode where Jack Conte blends the worlds of music creation (Pomplamoose and the funk band 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 founded in 2013, and is on track to pay out more than $500 million to creators in 2019 alone. As a musician and filmmaker, Jack spent his days in a converted dog kennel-turned-recording studio in Sonoma County, making YouTube videos that have amassed over 120 million views. Now, he’s in full-time CEO mode at Patreon HQ in San Francisco where the company is paying millions of dollars to creators every month around the world. Jack also loves working with robots. Mentioned Links: Patreon:  https://www.patreon.com/creator-home Patreon Twitter: https://twitter.com/Patreon Pomplamoose: https://www.pomplamoose.com/ YouTube - Pomplamoose - https://www.youtube.com/user/PomplamooseMusic Scary Pockets: https://www.facebook.com/scarypockets/ Personal: http://www.jackcontemusic.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jackcontemusic Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JackConteMusic IG:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/jackconte 

Innovating Music

Innovation is Messy...with Jack Conte

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/incubator/accelerator. Previously, as SVP-Digital for EMI Music, Cohen led global digital business development. Prior to EMI, Ted led Consulting Adults, clients included Universal Studios, Amazon, Microsoft, and Napster. Cohen also held senior positions at both Warner Bros Records & Philips Electronics. A 40+ year digital entertainment industry veteran, Cohen created & chaired MidemNet and served on the Grammy National Trustee Board. Ted continually looks for the next innovative technology & his next challenge, he really loves his life.

Everything Old is New Again...with Ted Cohen

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.  

Livestreaming and Live Connecting with Dmitri Vietze

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 show and podcast about the music business called The Future of What. Sabin is a former board member of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of The Recording Academy, the RIAA, and the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM).     Mentioned Links: Website: https://musicbiz.org/ Facebook: @MusicBizAssoc IG: @MusicBizAssoc Twitter:@MusicBizAssoc

Connecting the Music World: Portia Sabin, Music Business Association

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 what it takes to create and promote an album. He later translated that knowledge as an executive with Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music Groups.  Jay moved to San Francisco and finally to Los Angeles for Universal where he worked for 18 years, most recently as VP New Media and Online Marketing for Universal Music Enterprises [UMe]. Jay has been on the cutting edge of Digital Sales & Marketing with Universal Music, Starbucks Entertainment, Fox Home Entertainment (International), and Warner Music Group. It is this unique perspective as a musician, music executive, and fan that makes his approach to Digital Strategy and Online Marketing so artist-friendly. While at Universal, Jay launched the first digital-only label, responsible for all aspects of the operations. The groundbreaking label was featured on NPR, Billboard Magazine, Nights With Alice Cooper, and in the NY Times.  Jay also created the industry's first sheet music + album download (for the Grammy award-winning “Fingerprints” album by Peter Frampton).  He created and executed unique online marketing plans for Nirvana, The Police, KISS, Motley Crue, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, Styx, Rob Zombie, Johnny Cash, Guns ‘N Roses, Smokey Robinson, Tears For Fears, Rick Springfield, Lisa Loeb, Ringo Starr, Ron White, Peter Frampton, The Temptations, Amy Grant, Melissa Etheridge, and many, many others. Returning to his roots, photography remains Jay's creative outlet. He has photographed hundreds of artists in the studio and on tour. Mentioned Links: Website: www.label-logic.net  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/labellogic.net Twitter:  @jaygilbert Your Morning Coffee: https://www.jaygilbertconsulting.com/your-morning-coffee Jay Gilbert Consulting: https://www.jaygilbertconsulting.com/ Music Biz Weekly Podcast:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzDMG2H31uya2F8Bv3zp6Di2pPzRnOKZb 

Reconnecting to Virtual Audiences: Jay Gilbert, Label Logic

In this week’s podcast, Stefan Schulz, CEO and co-founder of Bitfury Surround, joins us to discuss the potential of blockchain technology for managing intellectual property. 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 music 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, Apple, NTT DoCoMo, Deezer, Spotify and more. For both Universal Music and Vivendi, Stefan actively designed and developed new business models around audio and video content as well as licenses for equity programs and consumer platforms. In 2016, Stefan joined forces with Simon Fuller (XIX Entertainment) to create the first global pop group based entirely on social media and audience engagement. Most recently, he has led the design of digital live entertainment rights (including social media, AR/VR and streaming content) for artists, promoters and music labels. He has worked with globally known artists like Nelly Furtado, Eminem, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Rihanna, Snow Patrol, U2, Florence and the Machine, Gwen Stefani, Bon Jovi, Sting, and Andrea Bocelli. Mentioned Links: Website: https://surround.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bitfurysurround?lang=en LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/stefanconvert/?originalSubdomain=de

Blockchain Infrastructure for Copyright Ownership

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. Entering UCLA on a full ride piano performance scholarship, he won the UCLA Concerto Competition and graduated with a B.A. in Film & Television production. Mr. Nakano spent over twelve years working as a video editor, writer, producer and live event director at TRW Space & Electronics, and went on to have 20+ years of video marketing/communications and film producing experience which will dovetail into the LA Inception Orchestra's Virtual Reality/360 music education program.    Mentioned Links: Facebook: https://www.inceptionorchestra.org/ Twitter: @LAInceptionOrch Asia American Symphony Association: http://aasymphony.org Classical Saxophone Project: http://www.classicalsaxproject.org/ Gensler: nsler.com  Heart of Los Angeles: heartofla.org Young Musicians Foundation: ymf.org American Composers Forum: composersforum.org  

Learning to Compose Virtually

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 the very first and leading French consumer Internet Service Provider (ISP). Club-Internet was sold to Deutsche Telekom’s T-Online for €1.2 billion in 2000 with close to one million subscribers when he left the company.   Fabrice then co-founded Cellfish Media, a leading App publisher, and Bandsintown Group through organic growth and acquisitions. Fabrice served as a board member of several prominent media and internet companies in Europe such as the supervisory board of the publicly traded T-Online (largest German ISP), was a director of media/tech companies such as Le Monde Interactif (groupe Le Monde), Hachette Multimedia (Lagardere), Lagardere Active (TV and Radio).   He is regularly featured as a speaker or expert at key music and tech events including SXSW, DLD, Billboard Conference, Pollstar Conference, Midem, Mobile World Congress, MusicBiz. Fabrice has been selected as one of the 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company in 2018.    Mentioned Links: Website: https://news.bandsintown.com/  https://www.twitch.tv/bandsintown/ Facebook: @bandsintown @bitforartists IG: @bandsintown @bandsintownforartists Twitter: @bandsintown @bitforartists    

Bridging Fans to Live Streams

Sometimes circumstance sparks innovation when changing work environments require new solutions. This week on the Innovating Music Podcast, we talk with Michael Gitig of G-Technology from a new viewpoint on the workflow of creators, keeping the COVID-19 crisis in mind. We look at navigating creative processes and relationships through business and technology. We also discuss changes being made by creators and companies in light of the COVID-19 crisis and the lasting effects these innovations may have on future workflows and work environments.

Evolution of the Creative Workflow

This week on the Innovating Music Podcast, we discuss innovation in public policy with Shain Shapiro. He is the founder and CEO of Sound Diplomacy, an organization that works together with a wide range of clientele from city councils to property developers and more, in order to help music in cities thrive. We discuss music communities in cities as ecosystems and how public policy can support and protect them. We also look at the effects the COVID-19 crisis has had on the music industry and what they mean for the future.

Public Policy and Music: Innovation Bringing Cities Together

Sometimes you have the right guest at the right time. Andrew Mason is founder and CEO of Descript, an AI-driven transcription software that promises to make audio editing as simple as using a word processor. In this week's Innovating Music podcast, we discuss the role of Descript in the current work-from-home experiment, as well as the features the company is rolling out to make podcasting more accessible to everyone. Along the way, we delve into Andrew’s entrepreneurial career, and how he turns lemons into lemonade as he transforms companies.

AI Changing the Way We Edit

In this special episode, we share the WebCall last week to hear what was happening on the ground in Seattle, WA and King County, WA, in the face of the COVID-19 closure of music venues and live experiences.  Kate Becker talks about how King County is responding to the virus, what they are telling their music venues, businesses, artists and community, and generally shared her moving perspective on lessons learned throughout this process of pandemic and public health. Guest: Kate Becker, King County WA Public Health for Mass Gatherings, Creative Economy Strategist Before the current crisis, Kate Becker had been the Creative Economy Strategist for the Office of King County Executive Dow Constantine in Seattle, WA.  For 5 years, she had been the Director of the Office of Film + Music in the City of Seattle, and had been a Commissioner for the Seattle Music Commission.  Her prior background includes being Director of Development and Exec. Producer for the Seattle Theatre Group, as well as being heavily involved in arts and non-profit work for many years. This virtual event was co-hosted by the Music Policy Forum, Music Cities Together, the Center for Creative Futures at the Maremel Institute, King County Creative, and Innovating Music @ UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music Mentioned Links: Music Policy Forum King County Creative on Facebook and their new website COVID-19 Handbook for Creative Industries Kate Becker on LinkedIn 

Public Health Outreach for Mass Gatherings

Karen Allen helps decode and make simpler streaming music for artists on Twitch.  Twitch is a live streaming service, bought by Amazon in 2014, and has 2.2 million daily broadcasters and 15 million daily average viewers.  It is mostly gamers, but also has creative and music channels for its highly creative audience.  Karen shares her own explorations in learning to use YouNow and now Twitch.  She shares what fan bases are there and how this type of engagement is different than what artists might have from other platforms.  She shares how you can learn further with her book and online class, Twitch for Musicians. Guest: Karen Allen, Author, Twitch for Musicians Karen Allen created Twitch for Musicians, a book and an online course now in its second edition that demystifies the process of producing and growing a channel on Twitch. She features artists on the InRotation channel on Twitch, produces the MarinaVMusic channel, and manages Megan Lenius, a top music streamer. She is also a strategy and business development consultant to tech startups in music and entertainment and has held executive positions at the RIAA, Mobile Ecosystem Forum, and TAG Strategic. Mentioned Links: Website: https://www.twitchformusicians.com Facebook: @twitchformusicians IG: @twitchformusic Twitter: @twitchformusic MarinaV on Twitch StageIt EmmaMcGann on Twitch YouNow MonsterCat Audible Magic rights management Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) Mixer Caffeine.tv Stream Labs Tablo Publishing 

Twitch Streaming for Musicians

Matt Black has been intrigued by computers since reading "The Shockwave Rider" from a bookmobile in his small English village of his youth. Since then, he has created scratch mixes from a set of decks across London warehouse parties in the late 1980s, pirate radio, become the band Coldcut, created major hits, launched the label Ninja Tune, and developed mad programming skills. He builds what he calls "software instruments" for the iPad and (when he can) Android, expanding this year from Ninja Jam to JammPro, letting artists make their own tracks.   Guest: Matt Black, Co-Founder, Ninja Tune; Member of the band Coldcut Matt Black is half of legendary DJ duo and multimedia pop group Coldcut, formed in 1987, and founders of Ninja Tune, the UK  label. In 2020, Ninja Tune celebrates 30 years as one of the world’s leading electronic music labels and a beacon for the independent music spirit. In 2017 Coldcut celebrated 30 years in electronic music with a string of gigs releases and special projects. A new album is coming in 2020.   For over 28 years as part of Coldcut he has combined cutting edge artistic expression with positive activist themes in such pieces as Journeys by DJ, The Only Way is Up, People Hold On, Stop This Crazy Thing, Timber, Panopticon, Re:volution, Energy Union, Walk a Mile, True Skool, and many more. Coldcut have worked with a wild range of artists, activists and other groups and luminaries eg Steve Reich, James Brown, Mark  E Smith, Queen Latifah, Jello Biafra, Saul Williams, Robert Owens, Lisa Stansfield, Crass, Roots Manuva, Lee Scratch Perry, the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, Greenpeace, and Avaaz. In 2011 Matt designed the iOS app Ninja Jamm, Ninjatune's first music app which has had over 600,000 downloads; in 2020 the new advanced version Jamm Pro has been released. In 2017 2 more apps he designed were released: Pixi a visual synth, and Robbery a satirical video game. Midivolve, a music software collaboration with Ableton was released July 2017. The Zen Delay hardware unit released 2019 was also his co-creation. At Splice festival 2017 Matt showcased his experiments with Style Transfer, a cutting edge new style of visual processing using AI techniques. For his AV show, done in conjunction with his wife filmmaker Dinaz Stafford, Jamm triggers visual clips so every sound has a matching visual.  Matt collaborated with artist Wolfgang Buttress (the Hive, Kew) for BEAM AV installation Glastonbury 2019. Links: Jamm Pro Website: http://jammpro.net/   Jamm Pro for iPhone: https://apps.apple.com/app/id1148499320 Jamm Pro Competition - Win £1000: http://jammpro.net/jp1000/ Twitter: @NinjaJamm Coldcut Twitter: @Coldcut The Shockwave Rider, John Brunner, 1975 The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins, 1940 Tonto synth and Malcolm Cecil Ableton Link Kevin Kelly, The Next 5,000 Days on the Web, 2007, TED Roger Hallam, Common Sense for the 21st Century; Extinction Rebellion  

Scratch Mixes to Pirate Radio to Software Instruments

Kwende Kefentse, both DJ Memetic and Music Lead for the City of Ottawa, and our host dig into the urban terrain, urban fabric, and politics of the city and music.  He speaks deeply about urban terrain, urban fabric, and music, with the lens of "urban morphology" from his architecture studies in London and work with the city.  He talks about topics as wide-ranging as the origins of hip hop in the South Bronx, trends in music cities where industry and community connect, distribution of music assets in neighborhoods, the music industry as intermediator, city metabolisms for music, missing dynamic models, and the role of media in a city.  He brings the conversation back to his work with TIMEKODE, one of Canada’s most established independent dance parties, and the documentary in progress about its community impact.  Guest: Kwende Kefentse, Cultural Industries Development Officer and Music Lead, City of Ottawa; DJ Memetic; Host and Creative Director, TIMEKODE Kwende Kefentse is the Cultural Industries Development Officer and Music Lead for the City of Ottawa. His work at the intersection of culture, space, public policy and the economy has been featured in outlets like CityLab, Spacing Magazine and Monocle Radio to name a few. Prior to completing a Masters of Research from UCL’s Bartlett School of Architecture in Space Syntax Architecture and Cities (2017 - 2018), focussed on the spatial configuration of music industry value chains, Kwende played a leading role developing the council-approved Renewed Action Plan for Arts, Heritage, and Culture (2013 - 2018). Following from that, he led the development of the Ottawa Music Industry Coalition - a not-for-profit organization focussed on industry development, and the Ottawa Music Strategy (2018 - 2020) - a council-approved strategy for investing in, and developing the music industry. He now works on day-to-day implementation of the strategy while developing other cultural industry initiatives. Kwende serves on the boards of the Carleton University Art Gallery and FACTOR (Diversity and Inclusion observer) respectively. He is also the locally and internationally renowned producer and performer DJ Memetic, and the host + creative director of TIMEKODE, one of Canada’s most established independent dance parties. Over nearly 15 years of monthly events TIMEKODE has become a beacon of progressive pluralism in Ottawa. His solo + TIMEKODE original productions and remixes have received critical acclaim from international outlets like Vice Thump, Radio Nov and Wax Poetics. Links Mentioned: LinkedIn Twitter @kwendeismemetic City of Ottawa Ottawa Music Industry Coalition Space Syntax: Architecture and Cities @ UCL's Bartlett School of Architecture TIMEKODE: http://timekode.com / http://timekode.tv Richard Florida - Rise of the Creative Class  (on  Amazon) Creative Index Music Policy Forum website and Facebook Santa Fe Institute Urban Morphology NOW Institute Full transcripts can be found at innovatingmusic.org

City Shapes, Streets, Layers, and Ecosystems

In this Innovating Music podcast, we talk about disruptive technologies in music. Hosted by Gigi Johnson and produced by the UCLA Center for Music Innovation at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, we bring together unique voices from inside and outside of the music industry. As Kevin Kelly has been quoted to say, “The Future is Already Here -- It’s just not evenly distributed.” Join us here to see where the future may already have landed.

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Innovating Music

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