Bold Predictions: The Future for Songwriters and Creators

AI music’s legal landscape is getting more complicated. We break down three questions at the center of the debate: whether AI can learn from copyrighted work, how companies obtain training data, and whether AI-generated outputs compete with original music. Then, Vydia co-president Jenna Gaudio and NVIDIA’s Shari Reich share bold predictions about context-aware listening and how AI could unlock the value of existing music catalogs. Trapital Summit 2026 is happening on Tuesday, September 15 in Los Angeles. Get your tickets here: https://www.trapital.com/summit/2026 CHAPTERS 02:52 Three Copyright Questions 08:12 Why AI Firms Still License 10:54 Trapital Summit 13:24 Jenna Gaudio’s Prediction 18:45 Context-Aware Listening 21:57 Rights and Infrastructure 23:44 Shari Reich’s Prediction 25:27 Unlocking Music Catalogs 27:12 AI as a Tool 30:49 Catalog Is the New Content SPONSORSChartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week. TRAPITAL Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.

Dolly Parton’s most valuable asset wasn’t her music, it was her theme park. We kickoff the episode with an exploration of Dollywood. Then on our road to Trapital Summit, Shot Tower Capital’s Rob Law and Antwyne DeLinde joins us for bold prediction: Why AI could increase the value of human-made music, improve royalty collection, and strengthen catalog cash flows. Musixmatch Co-President Marco Paglia also predicts that, within three years, every AI-generated song will be licensed before it is created, opening the door to personalized music and entirely new revenue streams. The Trapital Summit is happening September 15 in Los Angeles. Get your ticket here:https://www.trapital.com/summit/2026 CHAPTERS 03:33 Dolly Parton’s Legacy 05:54 The Artist Wealth Funnel 08:49 AI’s Upside for Music 11:49 Predicting Catalog Cash Flow 16:23 AI and Catalog Values 19:21 Licensing Before Release 22:42 Personalized Music 26:41 Musixmatch’s AI Framework 28:47 What Needs to Change SPONSORSChartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week. Symphonic: Distribute your music to one of the largest networks in the industry. Symphonic delivers your music to over 200 digital service providers ensuring that you’re monetizing every stream and use of your music on Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more TRAPITAL Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.

Could music become Netflix’s next big content category? In this episode, we break down Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl’s case for bringing music to Netflix, why it could give both Netflix and the music industry more leverage against YouTube, and how advertising could make the opportunity more compelling. We also explore the challenges, from licensing economics and consumer behavior to whether Netflix actually needs a full music offering. Then, on the road to Trapital Summit, Epidemic Sound’s VP, Strategic Music Partnerships, Jesper Staffas joins us for a bold prediction: traditional record labels and music companies will increasingly look like IP law firms with music divisions. CHAPTERS 04:39 Why Music Wants Netflix 09:34 The Case for Netflix 10:18 Netflix’s Ad Opportunity 13:34 Why Netflix May Pass 16:16 The Consumer Behavior Problem 21:18 Should Netflix Test Music? 25:21 Bold Prediction: Music’s Legal Future 26:01 More Lawyers Than A&Rs? 27:30 Music Licensing and Brands Get your tickets here - September 15 in LA: Trapital Summit Tickets SPONSORS Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week Symphonic: Distribute your music to one of the largest networks in the industry. Symphonic delivers your music to over 200 digital service providers ensuring that you’re monetizing every stream and use of your music on Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more TRAPITAL Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.

The music business has changed dramatically over the past decade, especially in the independent sector. We sit down with Flexpoint Ford's Managing Director, Mike Morris, to discuss why independent music has become such an attractive investment opportunity, how fragmentation creates value, and how investors weigh catalog ownership against infrastructure, services, and technology. We also explore what makes a music investment durable in an increasingly competitive market. CHAPTERS 02:26 Why Independent Music Is Winning 03:42 Infrastructure and Artist Catalogs 05:23 Diversified Portfolios 13:49 Music’s Biggest Opportunity 17:47 Are Legacy Catalogs Overpriced? 23:34 AI and Music Investing 27:57 The Weeknd's Catalog Deal Get your tickets here - 9/15 in LA: Trapital Summit Tickets SPONSORS Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week Symphonic: Distribute your music to one of the largest networks in the industry. Symphonic delivers your music to over 200 digital service providers ensuring that you’re monetizing every stream and use of your music on Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more TRAPITAL Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.

Jay-Z's 2026 has been a victory lap of sorts. Anniversary shows, stadium runs, and enemies put on notice. He’s focused on the music, yet less public on the business moves. But maybe that’s by design. For years, one of Jay Z’s goal was to attain more wealth and become richer. Mission accomplished, he’s the world’s richest musician. But ever since he got there, the climate has long shifted. For public figures, billionaire status is more nuanced and complex than ever before. We're joined by ESPN’s Justin Tinsley to break it all down. We discuss why Jay went "all offense" this year, how the cultural conversation around wealth turned on him, his music, Roc Nation, the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and more. After Justin’s segment, we have a bold prediction from Symphonic CEO Jorge Brea. CHAPTERS 05:13 2026 is Jay Z's "All Offense" Year 09:14 Billionaire Scrutiny and Public Image 17:12 The American Carnival 26:32 Who Will Perform at the Super Bowl in 2027? Bold Prediction: Symphonic’s Jorge Brea Trapital Summit Tickets - Get your tickets here SPONSORSChartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week TRAPITAL Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.

Our third annual Trapital Summit is right around the corner, live September 15 at the Sunset Room Hollywood. We're kicking off a new segment called Bold Predictions, where you’ll hear from the executives from our sponsors who made this year’s summit possible. Today we’re joined by Lucas Keller, president and founder of Milk & Honey as he explains why shrinking splits could turn songwriting into a vanity business. We’re also joined by Maurice Slade, head of music of SoundCloud, who predicts why AI will mint a new kind of creator the way that sampling once did. CHAPTERS 04:13 Bold Predictions: A New Series 04:58 Lucas Keller: The Future for Songwriters 11:47 Why The AI Threat is Overstated 17:26 Maurice Slade: The Dawn of a New Creator 22:57 When Music Becomes Self Expression Trapital Summit Tickets - Early bird pricing ends July 15 SPONSORS Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week TRAPITAL Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.

My April 2026 interview with Clive Davis (watch here or listen here) was one of his last before he passed away in June 2026. Here are my reflections on my interactions with Clive, and a few parts of his legacy that still get overlooked. You can also revisit our original Trapital episode on Clive’s career Here. CHAPTERS 04:23 Reflecting on our interview 06:03 Clive's overlooked career peak 10:03 Clive's relationship with American Idol 13:15 Clive and the Future of Music Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week TRAPITAL Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.

AI keeps getting called music's biggest threat. Or its biggest opportunity. Both framings miss the point. The real question is harder: if AI can handle the cognitive work, what's left that actually matters? We're joined by Jessica Powell, CEO and co-founder of AudioShake, to figure that out. We talked about why experienced practitioners get the most out of AI, what happens to the creators caught in the middle, and whether "AI-generated" is already a useless label. We also break down how AudioShake works — not generative AI, but subtractive stem separation and why physical media and community could be music's quiet hedge against digital abundance. CHAPTERS 04:53 Music vs. Code 07:46 Taste and Differentiation 14:27 Should We Label AI Music? 17:41 How AudioShake Works 26:23 Vibe Coding, Jobs, and Disruption SUMMIT Get your Trapital Summit tickets here SPONSORS Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week Symphonic: Distribute your music to one of the largest networks in the industry. Symphonic delivers your music to over 200 digital service providers ensuring that you’re monetizing every stream and use of your music on Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more TRAPITAL Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.

Interstellar wasn't a phenomenon when it dropped in 2014. Now it's widely seen as a masterpiece. It’s more popular now than it was on release. How does that happen? Can we see it coming? In this solo episode, we break down the mechanics of a cultural reappraisal: why some polarizing work ages into greatness, and why other art quietly disappears. From Yeezus to Reasonable Doubt, Mr. Brightside to Cruel Summer, the pattern is more predictable than you'd think. CHAPTERS 02:16 The Four Buckets 03:25 Cruel Summer, Mr. Brightside, Queen, Freaks and Geeks 06:01 Dan's Top 5 13:55 What Enables Reappraisal 18:39 Recent Candidates 26:30 Why Reappraisal Fails SPONSORS Trapital Summit Tickets - Get them here Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week TRAPITAL Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.

Was there ever truly a "monoculture”? Or have we been telling ourselves a comforting story about past shared experience? We sit down with Tatiana Cirisano, VP of Music Strategy, MIDiA Research to unpack how we got from finale watch parties to infinite algorithmic feeds. If culture is so fragmented, why does everything online look, sound, and feel the same? We did more into the great cultural collapse, and whether live events are the last water-cooler moments standing. CHAPTERS 04:11 Was Culture More Fragmented Than We Remember 05:42 Consumption vs. Consciousness 10:35 Stages, Porches, and Living Rooms 15:44 Internet Culture Sameness 20:39 Algorithms as Gatekeepers 29:03 Live Events and Differentiation SPONSORS Trapital Summit Tickets Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week Symphonic: Distribute your music to one of the largest networks in the industry. Symphonic delivers your music to over 200 digital service providers ensuring that you’re monetizing every stream and use of your music on Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more TRAPITAL Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.