Spotify: Starving Artists?

We all like to think that if we saw wrongdoing, we’d do the right thing - that when confronted with a problem that goes against our ethics or morals, we’d speak up or take action. But what if calling bullshit meant damaging or ending your career, your family relationships, or even compromising your personal safety?  Show Notes: Learn about Mary Inman’s incredible work at Constantine Cannon here.  Read about Kyle Welch and Stephen Stubben’s research on whistleblowing.  Check out Dana Gold’s Newsweek article about keeping whistleblowers safe.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The notoriously tight-lipped global consulting firm McKinsey claims to be values-driven and purpose-led. But do their deeds back up their words? Or does their value of “serving the client first” mean every other value comes second? Can we really trust any company to be purpose-led when they operate in almost total secrecy? Show Notes: Buy a copy of When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World’s Most Powerful Consulting Firm by Mike Forsythe and Walt Bogdanich.  Learn more about Erik Edstrom and his work here. Connect with Rizwan Naveed and read about his current role at Google.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Web3 combines the ideals of the original internet with the most exciting aspects of new technology.  And the reason this tech currently embodies Web3 is that the architecture of this technology - the very fabric of it - is open source, anti-authority, and decentralized.  It could be a version of the internet where everyone has custody over their data. But it could also be a place where fraud runs rampant, where people hack each other’s data, and a place that promises something that will never exist.  Show Notes: Buy a copy of Glen Weyl’s book Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society here.  Read Molly White’s blog ‘Web 3 is Going Just Great’. Vlad Ginzburg created blockparty.co to allow creators and brands to create unique, connected NFTs.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Little known fact: only 3% of artists on Spotify make more than one thousand dollars. And the people who work on albums who aren’t top-billed artists, like backup singers and songwriters, make even less. In fact, most artists make fractions of a penny per stream. So where does all that cash go?  Show Notes Read Blake Morgan’s article about his meeting with Spotify execs: Spotify’s Fatal Flaw Exposed: How My Closed-Door Meeting with Execs Ended in a Shouting Match Learn more about Kaydence and her impactful work with the 100 Percenters here. David Turner writes a weekly blog called Penny Fractions ‘as a way to think through various record industry topics’. This episode uses the following tracks from FMA under a Creative Commons Attribution License: "What Dreams Become" by Audiobinger, "Moonlove Funk" by Cullah, "Ugly Truth" by HoliznaCC0, "Leave The Country (Instrumental)" by Anthem of Rain.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Farming is a notoriously difficult profession, high risk, and often low reward.  In India, agriculture supports roughly two-thirds of the population. And the majority of families who grow and sell crops do so on a small scale at great personal financial risk.  But one company is working to change this system from the inside: India’s largest agri-tech enterprise, Samunnati.  For this positive case study, we speak with Samunnati Founder and CEO Anil Kumar about how they are creating better markets for smallholder farmers across every state in India. Show Notes Learn more about how farmer collectives help entail competitive and holistic engagement beyond finance. Read about Anil Kumar’s journey from bank clerk to founder and CEO of Samunnati. Samunnati recently partnered with GROWiT to promote protective farming techniques to benefit the planet.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robinhood aims to make investing friendly, approachable, and understandable for newcomers and experts alike.  Although trading is free for the user, Robinhood makes a small amount of money for every single trade made on the app. The more you trade, the more money they make. So is making investing free through an app the same as democratization? Show Notes Read Devin Mills’ paper assessing the association between trading cryptocurrency and problem gambling.  Haley Sacks has a 'wealth’ of free resources and investing courses on Finance is Cool. Learn more about investing with Charles Rotblut’s book: Better Good than Lucky. Special thanks to James Royal for his contribution to this episode. This episode uses the following tracks from FMA under a Creative Commons Attribution License: “Assignment” by BoxCat Games, “Day Bird” and “Calm The Fuck Down” by Broke For Free, “Another beep beek beer please” by Rolemusic, “Feels Good 2 B” and “Fat Caps” by Jason Shaw.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chief cofounders Lindsay Kaplan and Carolyn Childers met at a lame networking event for women and realized on the spot that there was a dire need for something better, especially for senior female executives.  Today we talk to this dynamic duo about how that fateful event set them on a path to create Chief – the private network valued at over $1B+  focused on supporting women at the top and keeping them there. Show Notes Listen to Ty’s full conversation with Lindsay and Carolyn at the Collision Conference in June 2022.  Chief recently announced that they are launching in the UK. Read about it in Bloomberg. Watch Chief’s hilarious parody commercial “This Guy Means Business” and listen to their podcast The New Rules of Business.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Noom’s app promises a long-term approach to weight loss based on psychology and personalization.  And it’s popular. It has 250 million downloads, ads that pop up everywhere from podcasts to the Superbowl, and a valuation of $3.7 billion.  But is being a weight loss app even the right goal? Or is it just the perfect business model? Show Notes Read Taylor Majewski’s deep-dive into the app titled ‘‘The Dark Side of Noom’. Check out Eling Tsai’s full-service nutritional consultancy work at Food in Common. Buy Jane Ogden’s recent book Health Psychology which examines health behaviors through reviewing key research in the field.  If you love the show, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Find out more at https://callingbullshitpodcast.com/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Food and Drug Administration has expansive jurisdiction. On their website, they say “The FDA strives above all else to safeguard the health and wellbeing of the American people."  Given what we learn in this episode we’d say that’s highly questionable.  Join us as we break down the alarming story of the FDA with a 27-year veteran of the FDA, Dr. Richard Williams, author and journalist Lauren Etter, physician and professor Dr. Gail Van Norman, and conflict of interest professor Genevieve P. Kanter.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Unilever, better known as the 100-year-old company whose products you’ve grown up using: Dove Soap, Lipton Tea, and Ben & Jerry's to name a few. Join us for a candid conversation with Unilever CEO Alan Jope where we discuss the challenges and opportunities of modernizing a purpose-led company with 3.4 billion customers in more than 100 countries. If you love the show, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Find out more at https://callingbullshitpodcast.com/. This episode features additional music from Joseph Stevens.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.