The Future Of What Podcast

A Podcast and Radio Show About the Music Industry

Founded by Music Biz President, Portia Sabin as a way to educate musicians on the realities of the music business, The Future of What Podcast has become a forum where the most significant voices in our industry discuss important issues of the day. Tune in as she hosts important industry figureheads and innovators alike in exciting discussions on where the music business is headed next!

March 12, 2024 – The Future of What Episode #225 — Vault & beatBread’s Funding Options For Indie Artists

With more artists creating and releasing more music now than ever, there is a major need for new revenue streams and funding options to help artists take their careers to the next level. This month on The Future of What, we speak with two representatives from companies that do just that: Nick Struzenski of Vault, a bespoke catalog brokerage & artist funding service, and Matthew Tilley of beatBread, which provides funding for artists & labels alike powered by data science.... Listen

February 28, 2024 – The Future of What Episode #224 — RAMPD’s Precious Perez & Lachi on Disability Awareness & Activism

RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities) was founded in 2021 as a collective of artists, performers and music professionals with disabilities seeking to raise awareness of disability culture in the music business. Since then the organization has worked to advocate and create opportunities for disabled music professionals and ensure they have access to inclusive & accessible spaces, including partnering with the GRAMMYs to make the annual awards event more disability-inclusive. This month, we spoke with RAMPD’s founder,... Listen

February 13, 2024 – The Future of What Episode #223 — Trevanna Tracks’ Tools For Improving Sync Licensing

Sync placements have become a highly lucrative revenue stream for artists and rightsholders alike in recent years, as the production teams behind tv shows & movies constantly search for the perfect tracks to set the scene in their latest project. With that expanded attention to this part of the business comes a lot of extra paperwork, something that until recently sync licensing teams did not have help with. This month, we spoke with Trevanna Tracks’ CEO,... Listen

January 24, 2024 – The Future of What Episode #222 — NIVA’s Journey From Survival To Advocacy

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) was founded at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as a lifeline for small live music houses, pulling together federal grant money to ensure that venues would remain afloat until it was safe for artists to tour again. Since then, the organization has shifted focus to develop a member services suite, tackle major issues like the ticketing debacle, and address the needs of venues on a local level. We spoke with NIVA’s Executive Director,... Listen

January 9, 2024 – The Future of What Episode #221 — Exceleration Music + Redeye: An Indie Music Powerhouse

Founded in 2020 by five tenured independent music professionals, Exceleration Music set out to invest in music rights, enter strategic partnerships and develop a suite of support services, all backed by authenticity and reverence for everything essential to indie music’s DNA. The company doubled down on that commitment in September 2023 by acquiring Redeye Distribution, effectively creating an indie music powerhouse with a vast catalog and distribution reach potentially rivaling that of the major labels. In our first podcast of 2024,... Listen

January 8, 2024 – 2024 New Year’s Message From Music Business Association President Portia Sabin

Check out this special message from Music Business Association President, Portia Sabin with updates about everything we’re working on in 2024, including our inaugural Trust & Safety In Music Symposium, Music Biz 2024 conference programming & off-site events, the Spring 2024 Common Ground Webinar Series, our new Music Biz Events app, upcoming changes to our website & socials, and more! Begin video transcript: Hi everyone — Portia Sabin, President of the Music Business Association here to wish you a happy new year! ... Listen

December 12, 2023 – The Future of What Episode #220 — Supporting U.S. Indie Venues: An Interview With Live Music Society’s Cat Henry

The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic opened eyes across the world to just how vital touring & live music is to the entire music business ecosystem. As venues of all sizes closed to stop the spread of COVID, a number of organizations and initiatives were founded in the first pandemic year to help local independent music houses financially stay afloat. Today, these groups now work to keep the live industry alive, providing vital grant funding and support networks to ensure these important local cultural centers remain open.... Listen

November 15, 2023 – The Future of What Episode #219 — LyricFind’s Darryl Ballantyne On New Tools To Enhance Lyric Offerings

In just a few short years, song lyrics have gone from a “nice to have” addition that music fans could seek out in liner notes or on the internet to a hot commodity on streaming platforms, graphics-heavy promotional videos, user-generated content and beyond. This month, we talk with LyricFind Founder & CEO, Darryl Ballantyne about the evolution of lyric-centric products, how his company liaises with labels & publishers to help support their needs, the renewed importance of proper song translations as music’s reach breaks cultural barriers,... Listen

November 7, 2023 – The Future of What Episode #218 — Dolby’s Christine Thomas Talks Dolby Atmos & Immersive Audio

While some say nothing quite captures the experience of listening to music performed in-person, new technologies are bringing unparalleled levels of immersion to the music listening experience. Enter Dolby Atmos, an immersive audio format which debuted for movies more than a decade ago that is now available across music services on 2.5 billion devices. In our latest podcast, Dolby’s Head of Music Industry Relations, Christine Thomas discusses the evolution of the company’s immersive audio efforts and how it gives artists the ability to deliver their music to audiences in an exciting new medium!... Listen

October 18, 2023 – The Future of What Episode #217 — DAACI Talks AI Tools To Enhance The Creative Process

Bad actors have already learned how to exploit generative AI to either pose as popular artists or misappropriate copyrighted material. However companies like DAACI are working with artists, songwriters & composers to develop tools that are additive to the creative process, helping to eliminate tedious parts of their job and overcome writer’s block. In our latest podcast, we talk to DAACI CEO, Rachel Lyske about her company’s mission to support composers with a tech suite backed by three decades of research and deep collaboration with members of the creative community to address their specific needs!... Listen