Sound Connections

A missed CD delivery exposed a gap in India's music industry. That moment led Vijay to build OKListen, an independent music platform that spent more than a decade growing alongside a market that wasn't yet ready for it before ultimately being acquired by AWAL. In this episode of Sound Connections, Vijay shares what it was like to build a music tech company in one of the world's largest music marke...

Are traditional music production tools entering their last era? Noam Levinberg , founder of Safari Audio , believes the future of music creation may look very different from the world producers know today. In this episode, we explore the rapid impact of AI on music software, why traditional plugin businesses are being challenged, and how the next generation of creators may never adopt the workflow...

What happens when creators make music, but the industry does not know who to pay? In this episode of Sound Connections, Jakob Wredstrøm sits down with Niclas Molinder , songwriter, producer, founder of Session, and one of the music industry's leading advocates for creator rights. Niclas shares how missing rights data continues to cost creators credits, royalties, and recognition, and why solving t...

Streaming changed music, but it did not solve the business problem for most independent artists. In this episode of Sound Connections, we welcome Thierry Ascarez , Chief Business Officer at Winamp, to discuss how the company is reimagining its role in the music industry after nearly three decades of history. From its origins as the iconic MP3 player that helped define the early internet music era,...

Most music platforms are built for listeners. This one is built for creators. In this episode of Sound Connections, Jakob Wredstrøm sits down with John Lister, Head of Community at Rap Fame, to explore how a global rap platform is reshaping music creation, discovery, and artist communities. From recording directly on a phone to joining crews, entering competitions, and exchanging real-time feedbac...

What does it take to build a music streaming service around culture, access, and long-term value? In this episode of Sound Connections, we sit down with Faraan Irfan, Founder and CEO of Saarey Music, to unpack how he’s solving one of music’s biggest access problems. Saarey is a streaming platform dedicated to South Asian classical music, built on exclusive rights, deep cultural metadata, and a bus...

Freddie Moross , founder of Myndstream, joins Sound Connections to unpack the growing role of functional music in wellness, hospitality, and care environments. This conversation explores how intentional audio can shape experiences inside spas, hotels, and treatment spaces, and why music should be treated as infrastructure rather than background noise. Freddie explains how soundtracks can guide gue...

Mark Bamford joins Sound Connections for an open discussion on startup building, video monetization, and the hard truth about innovating in music. As the founder of Viktrs, Mark is working on a new model for video that aims to unlock more value from every view by focusing on engagement, discovery, and data rather than the traditional advertising-driven approach used by major platforms. Mark unpack...

Rob Abelow, product leader at OpenStage, joins Sound Connections to go deep into the infrastructure behind fan relationships and why they are becoming central to music growth. This conversation breaks down how today’s ecosystem fragments fan data across multiple platforms, limiting visibility and control for artists. Rob shares how bringing that data together into unified fan profiles changes how...

Join us for a grounded conversation with Jan Willem , Co-Founder of Momants and the strategic mind behind Paylogic .  Jan Willem reflects on Paylogic’s journey as a fintech pioneer which provided a white-label ticketing solution that let event organizers sell directly to their own audience. This technology famously scaled to handle massive peaks for global events like Tomorrowland. We explore his...

We welcome Christian Ringstad Schultz , CEO and co-founder of the Norwegian music tech company Masterchannel – delivering industry-grade audio mastering. With a team of just two and a half people, Masterchannel has reached a million-dollar revenue run rate while mastering nearly 100,000 songs every month. In this episode, Christian shares how proprietary AI, white-label partnerships, and disciplin...

Join us as we dive into the dark side of the music industry with Andrew Batey and Morgan Hayduk , Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Beatdapp. Their company, the leader in fraud detection and trust solutions, is tackling industrial-scale money laundering in music. Discover how fraudsters exploit streaming platforms, manipulate royalties, and launder millions, threatening the core of the industry. Andrew a...

The music industry doesn't need another revolution; it needs a thoughtful evolution. Björn Lindvall , CEO and Co-founder of Music Infra ,  joins the podcast to explain why “blue box” tech fixes often fail and why lasting change depends on deeper infrastructure. Drawing from his finance background and co‑founding Hipgnosis, Lindvall dissects the challenges of digital licensing, outdated CWR (Common...

From niche record label to Apple Music Classical  Simon Eder shares the journey of building Primephonic, a specialized music tech startup acquired by Apple. We discuss the complexities of classical music streaming, from solving metadata challenges to navigating the shift from physical CDs to digital Hi-Res audio. Simon offers a grounded perspective on startup exits, investor relations, and the rea...

Let's go behind the scenes of live music digitalization in this special Sound Connections session from the ESNS 2026 Conference. We examine the "red ocean" of ticketing with guests Mike van Gaasbeek of Stager and Yannick Corbeau of CM.com, understanding how innovative platforms are easing the heavy daily tasks of event promoters by integrating ticketing, marketing, and payments into a single workf...

It's a new year and for our first episode, we welcome Dr. Gigi Johnson in this special partnership with BIME for a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities of music discovery today. From her decades at UCLA to her current work at Rethink Next, Gigi brings a unique perspective on how AI is reshaping creation, curation, and fandom. The conversation distills the flood of new tracks, the rise o...

In this value-packed episode of Sound Connections , host Jakob Wredstrøm sits down with Jesse Flores, Head of Artist and Label Partnerships at Intercept Music, to explore what it really takes to succeed as an independent artist today. If you're producing your own music, wondering how to grow a fanbase, or struggling to market your releases,  this is your blueprint. From choosing the right music di...

Streaming isn’t enough. If you're an artist or manager looking to grow real revenue, this episode breaks down how to use merch, email, and digital sales to build a profitable artist business. Jakob Wredstrøm talks with Jack McCarthy, co-founder of Indiepreneur and co-host of the Creative Juice podcast, about the missing revenue stream most artists ignore: direct-to-consumer e-commerce.  With actio...

Veteran catalog expert and CEO of Dynamite Songs , Alan Wallis joins Jakob to break down the real mechanics behind IP rights, music catalog sales, sync revenue, valuations, private equity, and long-term music investing. He shares how he built Mojo Music , acquired classic catalogs, sold to Concord, and now runs Dynamite Songs. Here’s what you’ll take away from this episode: - Catalog valuation &am...

Tom Höglund, a key figure from the founding team of Epidemic Sound, breaks down how they built a unicorn by disrupting the century-old music licensing industry. From his early days as a lawyer to creating an alternative model that pays musicians upfront and offers a 50-50 split , Tom shares the controversial journey. Discover the audacious vision to make music licensing simple and global for conte...

Discover how Alex Braga built an AI 'Instrument' a decade ago — not to replace musicians, but to rediscover what makes us human. In this episode of the Sound Connections Podcast, Alex Braga, award-winning artist, performer, and creator of the A-Mint AI instrument , joins Jakob Wredstrøm to unpack the philosophy and ethics behind AI in art.  From the meaning of human creativity to the illusion of m...

Who are the people behind the music that shapes how we listen? In this episode of Sound Connections, host Jakob Wredstrøm sits down with Overtone Studios CEO Niklas Brantberg , who shares how Epidemic Sound and his label built a new music economy for creators, one where focus playlists turn into real income. Jakob and Niklas unpack the business of mood music , the shift from faceless tracks to art...

Can finance make the music industry fairer? In this episode, Lior Tibon, CEO and Co-founder of Duetti, shares with host Jakob Wredstrøm how he’s building a platform that lets artists turn their catalogs into opportunity.  From Tidal to Duetti, Lior’s journey blends financial innovation with deep respect for creators. Hear how technology, transparency, and smarter capital are shaping a new path for...

Can AI and infrastructure finally make the music industry scalable? In this episode, Ben Mendoza, CEO and Co-Founder of Beatchain , joins host Jakob Wredstrøm to reveal how AI-driven infrastructure, data analytics, and localization are redefining the future of music entrepreneurship. Learn how Beatchain’s innovative arena model helps independent artists grow careers sustainably, how automation fix...

What does it really mean to own your audience in today’s music industry? In this special partnership episode, host Jakob Wredstrøm joins Taj from The Sound of Startups and Lauriane Saint-Denis, a business developer connecting culture, innovation, and people in music tech to unpack how audience development, fan data, and music tech innovation are reshaping live events. Together they explore why tic...