Sound Connections

If you’ve ever wondered how merch works behind the scenes? Seamus Menihane, CEO and co-founder of Armada, one of the fastest-growing merch companies in the music industry. From being a touring drummer to leading a 170-person team, he shares his journey of turning a DIY screen-printing hustle into a full-scale merch powerhouse. Armada supports artists in building real, profitable brands through mer...

For over two decades, the music industry has struggled to answer three deceptively simple questions: What do we own? Where is it? Are we making money from it? Edward Ginis, co-founder of OpenPlay and Proto Hologram, shares how OpenPlay evolved from a bold internal project at Concord into an industry-standard platform, breaking down decades of data dysfunction and giving rights holders real control...

How do musicians break through in today’s noisy creator economy? In this episode with Vishal Ramakrishnan, co-founder of Round music marketing technology, to explore the future of music promotion and digital marketing for artists. Vishal shares how he went from failed film composer to building a data-driven music marketing platform, the tension between authenticity vs. AI-generated content, and wh...

What does it really take to turn a viral moment into a lasting music career? Head of US Marketing at 1RPM and a music industry veteran with over 20 years of experience has played pivotal roles in the rise of artists like Shawn Mendes, Elton John, and Nick Jonas, and she shares candidly what it really takes to build artist brands that last. Jenna breaks down real-world case studies, including the m...

Reflecting back to Wallifornia Music Tech Conference 2025 July, in this fiery and data-driven conversation, Jakob and Taj challenge the illusions around music tech investment.  They talked about why most music startups face poor exits, why B2C music apps struggle, and why B2B infrastructure solutions hold more promise.  Drawing on Taj’s tech startup experience and Jakob’s music industry research,...

It takes just one person to believe in the vision you are building.  Using that mindset, Mag Rodriguez, the founder & CEO of EVEN, has been able to create a platform that helps artists sell music to fans before it hits streaming services. He shares his journey from managing artists straight out of high school to leading music initiatives at a venture fund, and finally launching EVEN to make th...

Fiverr is one of the multi-national online marketplaces for freelance services and in this episode with Adam Fine, Head of Music and Audio, we had an eye-opening conversation on how remote collaboration and AI are transforming the music industry. Topics such as the evolving landscape of music production, how AI tools like Suno are streamlining workflows and opening new creative possibilities, are...

In another episode with Rebecca Brook, she breaks down what’s really happening with Suno, Udio, and the major labels—who’s suing whom, why startups trying to “do the right thing” feel betrayed, and why the current legal landscape is making things murkier, not clearer.  The conversation pulls no punches and tackles hard truths: Are the legal systems built to protect music creators? Are artists bein...

Strings, tours and faith. Legendary guitarist tells his story from rejection to global tours and AI innovation.  The mindset and evolution of Ryan Roxie, the longtime guitarist for Alice Cooper and a true rock industry survivor shares a brutally honest and inspiring look at life on and off stage. As we explore the darker truths of the music industry through Roxie's eyes — from near-misses with rec...

Can Physical Music Make a Comeback?  Jennifer Sullivan, CMO and President of North America at KiTbetter discusses how KIT albums—a hybrid physical-digital format originating in K-pop—are transforming music monetization in the West. With insights on artist sustainability, fandom-driven commerce, and cultural shifts in music ownership, this episode explores how tangible fan engagement could reshape...

LyricFind CEO, Darryl Ballantyne, discusses the company's $1 billion antitrust lawsuit against Musixmatch and its parent company, TPG Growth.  The lawsuit alleges that Musixmatch's exclusive licensing deal with Warner Chappell Music has created a monopoly in the lyrics licensing market, forcing digital service providers like Spotify and iHeartRadio to source lyrics solely from Musixmatch, often at...

Concluding the 3-day music tech conference 2025 at Belgium, we share one of our partnership episodes with Rachel Young as she shares her expert lens on how artists, founders, and music companies can leverage digital platforms to build sustainable careers. Taking lessons from her pivotal work launching and developing TikTok’s music distribution service, SoundOn, and reflecting on how TikTok reshape...

From his academic roots and work at AI Music to launching RoEx, Dr. David Ronan, founder and CEO, shares how his AI-powered platform is transforming music production by lowering the technical barriers in mixing and mastering. A rare look at the intersection of machine learning and musical expression to the emotional nuances of mixing, he tell us why assistive AI is the future of creative workflows...

It is more than a design.  We are looking into the evolving importance of brand in music tech, how storytelling and authentic connection drive loyalty, and offering practical advice for founders who want to shape identity, visually and verbally. All these are discussed with Erik Herrström, the creative director in Vienna who has worked with top-tier brands like Nike, Spotify, and Google and then,...

For our next partnership episode, we have Collette Tibbetts, founder of Joker Deck, for a no‑fluff look at why music tech investing demands wild card thinking. Collette blends her experience as a songwriter and investor to explain why traditional VC frameworks often fall short in the music space—and how her angel syndicate, Joker Deck, is flipping the script. Drawing from industry nuance, lived ar...

With over 20 releases, a Netflix series soundtrack, and chairing Denmark’s top songwriting organizations, Danish musician and advocate dives deep into the challenges of sustaining a music career in an industry where streaming pays fractions and social media demands pay-to-play tactics. Find out how Anna Lidell's startup, SLEEVE, enables musicians to build direct, monetizable relationships with the...

How does a song become a multi-million dollar asset?  With a career that began in talent and label management at M.E.R. Group—home to EDM icon Alan Walker—Yonas brings a unique, full-stack perspective on what gives music lasting value. Now leading operations at one of the most sophisticated music investment funds in the U.S., he reveals the internal mechanics behind valuing music catalogs, why eve...

With roots in building digital experiences for artists like Childish Gambino and SZA, Megh and Chuka co-founded  Symphony — an all-in-one marketing platform tailored for creators.  In this episode, they share their journey from agency life to launching a scalable SaaS solution that simplifies marketing, data, and fan engagement for a new generation of artists. From LA grind to AI-driven global imp...

PARTNERSHIP WITH WALLIFORNIA 2025 We explore the evolution of music discovery alongside Aurélien Hérault, Chief Innovation Officer at Deezer.  From early editorial playlists to today’s AI-powered recommendation engines, Aurélien explains why Deezer labels—and withholds promotion of—100 % AI-generated tracks, how it detects fraudulent streaming activity, and the metrics that guide “lean-back” versu...

Let's explore the journey of Tom Allen, CTO of Downtown Music Group and founder of Curve. Tom shares how he went from an independent-label intern to building a bootstrapped music-data platform that earned its acquisition.  You’ll hear his insights on blending deep technical know-how with customer-driven iteration, and how he fosters a people-first culture across global engineering teams, the value...

In a world where billions of songs compete for attention, one company is ensuring every creator gets paid what they’re owed.  Hans Peter Roth shares how he transformed Muserk from a microsync licensing side project into the leading U.S. rights administrator, claiming an unexpected \$500K from YouTube in 2017 and growing to manage over 20 million works today.  He explains why U.S. mechanical royalt...

Turntable.fm was Joseph Perla’s first breakout hit in 2011 — now he’s back with Hangout.fm, a fully licensed platform that brings shared music experiences online. In this episode, Joseph reveals how a failed music rights negotiation taught him lessons that shaped his career at Facebook and Lyft, and fueled his four-year battle to secure label agreements for Hangout.fm. How did he raise funding fro...

From island beats to global charts, Gineyda Cornelio, Director of Marketing & Latin Strategy at AudioMack is rewriting the rules of today’s music business.  She traces her own path from club social-media gigs in Miami to guiding AudioMack’s Latin growth, then breaks down the numbers behind the genre’s 19% listener surge, the rise of independent distribution, and why Bad Bunny, Karol G, and reg...

Knowledge is the new currency for independent musicians—and Ryan Schmidt, Esq., wants every artist to have plenty in the bank. In this episode, the artist-turned-music-lawyer explains Foundation App, a gamified pocket “music-business school” for delivering two-to-five-minute lessons on contracts, royalties, publishing, tour deals, mental health, and more.  This conversation covers business skills...

From throwing a DIY festival in his hometown to running a 12‑person, AI‑driven marketing startup in Paris, Clémentin’s journey shows how grit and smart pivots can turn a bedroom idea into a global business tool. In another partnership episode with Music Tech Europe Academy, he shares the highs and lows of building Control Reach, formerly Your Music Marketing —including hard‑won lessons on fundrais...