The Future of What

Latest Episodes:

Episode #295 — Rock Paper Scissors, Inc's Dmitri Vietze on Music Marketing, Tech, and Times of Change Jul 07, 2026

Show notes

Dmitri Vietze describes working in PR & marketing in the music industry as a rollercoaster on top of another rollercoaster, given the constant transition in both industries. In this podcast episode, we gain insight into this experience from Dmitri, who runs Rock Paper Scissors, Inc., a PR firm representing music tech companies and organizes the Music Tectonics Conference every year. Throughout the interview, he describes his transition from artist PR to tech PR, how AI music compounds an already flawed attribution process, and how the internet, social media & AI have changed press and the dissemination of information, closing out with a discussion on the 2026 Music Biz Conference & Bizzys!

Episode #294 — The Past, Present & Future of Music Legislation: Hear from Fox Rothschild LLP's Cynthia Katz & Heidy Vaquerano! Jun 30, 2026

Show notes

Precedent shapes legislation. In our industry's current era of change – defined by issues ranging from AI usage to increased artist autonomy – these precedents are challenged to pave the way for the potential of new rulings. During Music Biz 2026, Cynthia Katz & Heidy Vaquerano of Fox Rothschild LLP gave us a glimpse beyond the glamorous exterior of music law, starting with how they got into the field and diving deeper into artist protection against cannibalistic AI (while also recognizing its revenue-generating iterations), the responsibility that comes with artists taking back their rights, and the catalog boom.

Episode #293 — How Roblox Is Shaping Next-Gen Music Discovery: A Conversation with Allison Moore of Splash Jun 16, 2026

Show notes

Music can be discovered anywhere – and for today's youth, gamified experiences on platforms like Roblox have opened doors for discovering and engaging with a wide range of new music. Splash Music's Roblox game draws in 2-3 million monthly users, establishing itself as the biggest Roblox stage. This episode recorded at Music Biz 2026 features Splash's Allison Moore, who speaks on the power of virtual spaces & connection. Here, she discusses what Splash's Roblox game offers, their companion app that creates music via voice input with the power of AI, her overall industry experience, and more!

Episode #292 — Live From Music Biz 2026: The Tech Hits & Misses in the Music Industry with Revelator's Ahuvah Berger-Burcat! Jun 03, 2026

Show notes

Before her start at Revelator four years ago, Ahuvah Berger-Burcat spent two decades in the tech & cybersecurity space. With this, she brings a unique perspective to the music industry and how it compares – from her perspective, we foster an interconnected community but lack regulations on the tech front. In this chat recorded at Music Biz 2026, Ahuvah touches on the importance of the MFFA, the evolution of the web that naturally led to the age of AI, and the false reality of fandom on the internet, closing out with some details on her Music Biz Conference experience!

Episode #291 — Unequal Justice: Inside the Fight Over Free Speech in Music May 19, 2026

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This episode features Simon Tam of The Slants and Prof. Erik Nielson, co-author of "Rap on Trial," who both have been instrumental in combating First Amendment right violations against minority musicians. Simon's fight to get his all-Asian band the right to their name saw thousands of pages of evidence denied, along with a footnote stating that – had they been Caucasian – there'd be no issue. Erik has researched how the Rap genre is singled out, identifying 800+ documented legal cases using Rap lyrics as evidence against young men of color. Hear from the pair on the results of their efforts, along with their concerns about freedom of speech in general.

Episode #290 — Focusing on the "We:" Hear From Sarah Landy of FUGA on How Collective Empowerment Benefits Everyone! May 06, 2026

Show notes

When listening to music brings so much joy, working with it every day should feel just as rewarding. In an industry that reflects our broader world, fear-based, ego-driven leadership is slowly being replaced with a culture of empowerment, seeing women and POC in more supervisory roles – though we still have a ways to go. Companies like Downtown drive this change with women holding a variety of leadership roles like Sarah Landy, SVP, Americas at Downtown-company, FUGA. She joins us on the podcast to discuss the role language and communication play in making employees feel valued, how encouragement of collective success drives better outputs, and more leadership insights!

Episode #289 — Patchwerk Studios' 30+ Year Legacy Apr 28, 2026

Show notes

When Music Ally COO Patrick Ross was looking for hotspots to show a Nordic delegation he was hosting in his hometown of Atlanta, the name Patchwerk Studios – a Black-founded studio with more than 30 years worth of gold & platinum records under its belt – came up often. From there, he met Studio Manager Osman Bangura. With Music Biz 2026 taking place in Patchwerk's home of Atlanta next month, the duo joined us to speak on the studio's history, owner Curtis Daniel III's integral role in helping Atlanta evolve from a music-making city to a music business city by democratizing education, and the new pathways the studio has opened for Atlanta natives.

Episode #288 — Recovering Royalties: How Notes.FM is Streamlining Artist Payments Apr 14, 2026

Show notes

In an age where musicians are expected to meticulously audit their music data themselves to ensure money isn't being left on the table, it is inevitable that something will get missed. Notes.FM is designed to lift this weight off of artists' shoulders, having already found missing money for a total of 94% of their users – with the first artist that they claimed money for receiving $75,000 from The MLC. In this episode, Notes.FM founder Tim Luckow discusses his industry journey, goals for the platform, and more!

Episode #287 — How Music Fans Can Become Music Investors: A Chat with Musicow's Marcus Sanchez Apr 07, 2026

Show notes

In an age where listeners can access any track at their fingertips, finding ways for artists to connect with superfans requires a creative approach – and Musicow has delivered exactly that. Originating in Korea, with the K-pop market already known for cultivating successful fan engagement strategies, the platform allows for fans to financially invest in the music they love. In this episode, Musicow US, IP CEO Marcus Sanchez explains the logistics behind the platform and how it differs from its Korean counterpart, plans for their "Fandom" project – which is already seeing success in its beta release of the track "Two Car Garage" by Jon Bellion and Swae Lee, and more!

Episode #286 — Building a Backbone for Effective Rights Management: MusicInfra on Scalable Infrastructure Mar 31, 2026

Show notes

Having noticed how difficult it was to obtain catalog info during his time at Hipgnosis Songs, Björn Lindvall set out to create a solution with MusicInfra, providing a scaled infrastructure that ensures works are accurately matched to recordings. Now, in an age where AI is generating more data than ever, such infrastructure has become even more crucial for rights management. In this episode, Björn speaks on the two products that the platform offers, how he is planning for this first generation of AI deals & new rights types, and more!

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