The biggest stars in the world, like Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake, have all the leverage to go independent, but they continue to work with the major labels. A big reason why is that they sign licensing deals. These deals have shifted over time, and become much more artists friendly, especially for the superstars in the streaming era.

We break down the different types of deals, how they’ve shifted over time, and unique case studies like Brent Faiyaz, Kanye West, and more.

I’m joined by Brian “Z” Zisook from Audiomack, who is a wealth of knowledge on this topic.

This episode is brought to you by EVEN. Buy the art from the artist. Learn more at https://get.even.biz/trapital

This episode is also brought to you by SymphonyOS, the marketing platform for today’s creative businesses. Learn more at https://symphony.to/trapital

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The market is booming for generative music. Suno raised $125M and Udio has raised over $10M. The tools are impressive, but they raise some important questions:

• What data are these products trained on?
• Are startups in music incentivized to ask for permission?
• Is this what 'IG for music' looks like?
• Are these products or features?

I'm joined by Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research. Hope you enjoy listening.

Make sure you listen to our Chartmetric stat of the episode!

NPR Tiny Desk is 15 years old and arguably stronger than ever. It helped Usher perform at the Super Bowl. It helped Tank and the Bangas break through to a Grammy nomination. And it elevated the perception of artists like T-Pain and Mac Miller.

But how does Tiny Desk maintain its influence? Any company can host a stripped-down acoustic series for artists to perform in their office. But even if they did, it wouldn't hit the same.

In this episode, we break down the dynamics that make Tiny Desk work, the tradeoffs that the show balances, how it maintains its status over time, and what the future may hold.

Listen to me and Tati Cirisano from MIDiA Research break it all down.

Make sure you listen to our Chartmetric stat of the episode.