Tariffs, Tours, and Trade Wars: Why Music Investment Won’t Slow Down
Is the global market headed for another shake-up?
In this episode, we unpack the rising uncertainty in international trade and finance—from shifting geopolitical alliances to unexpected tariffs and policy pivots. What does this mean for businesses, investors, and everyday consumers? Tune in as Billboard’s Senior Finance Correspondent, Liz Dilts Marshall and I break down the trends, the tensions, and what might come next in the global economy.
00:31 Investor Interest in Music Assets
01:49 Earnings Reports and Market Reactions
09:04 Potential Impact of Tariffs
11:39 Touring and Live Music Challenges
17:12 Hipgnosis and Music Royalties
23:59 Comparing Music Value: 1999 vs. Today
This episode is presented by State Farm, the home for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
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35:47
The 2025 Live Music Draft
In this episode, we’re shaking things up with our very first Live Music Draft 2025!
Joined by MIDiA Research’s Tati Cirisano, we’re drafting our top music festivals, stadium tours, arena tours, concert residencies, over-performers, and under-performers of the year!
02:30 Music Festivals
09:21 Stadium Tours
14:04 Arena Tours (First Timers)
22:00 Vegas Residencies
25:07 Overperformers
28:53 Underperformers
29:51 Market Moves
This episode is presented by State Farm, the home for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Listen in for our Chartmetric Stat of the Week.
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37:21
The $10B+ Blind Spot in B2B Streaming
There are millions of companies worldwide that use personal music streaming accounts for their businesses’ music. But if those companies had the business-level streaming they should, it would add billions of annual revenue to the industry. So why isn’t this a priority?
Well, it’s a priority for today’s guest, Ola Sars. He’s the founder and CEO of Soundtrack, which has been solving this problem for ten years. His business spun out of Spotify to tackle the SMB opportunity. He brought us under the hood to talk about how he convinces business to use his service, his revenue, churn, and plans for the future.
03:49 How Big is the B2B Market
13:04 Soundtrack’s Products and GTM
21:58 B2B vs Consumer Streaming Economics
25:54 How Labels Feel About Soundtrack
Trapital Summit: September 10 in LA. Get your tickets here!
This episode is presented by State Farm, the home for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
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35:37
Why Legacy Rock Bands Still Love Music Festivals
Everyone’s talking about “superfans,” but artist management companies have been focused on their top fans for quite some time. We sat down with Jonathan Daniel from Crush Music. They manage Green Day, Miley Cyrus, Sia, Weezer, Fall Out Boy, Train, and others.
We talk about Coachella, touring strategies, how they use data, business ventures and more. I also ask JD about acquisition offers, why they focus on rock and pop acts, and a whole lot more.
We dive into the realities of managing creatives, building trust within teams, and striking the balance between creative freedom and structure.
We also introduced a new segment to the show called “Market Moves” with our producer, Eric!
00:28 Coachella highlights
08:12 Touring Strategies and Challenges
19:12 Business Ventures and Sync Opportunities
33:45 Why Crush focuses on Rock and Pop
35:40 Market Moves
This episode is presented by State Farm, the home for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Listen in for our Chartmetric Stat of the Week.
Trapital Summit - Super Early Bird Tix Available Until 4/30.
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39:38
How to Win on YouTube
Let’s cut through the noise and get real about what it takes to build a sustainable business on the world’s biggest video platform.
Joining me are Ten2 Media founders Donna Budica and George Karalexis, who help artists like Benson Boone and Brent Faiyaz maximize YouTube. ****We dive into insights on how artists can take advantage of the YouTube ecosystem.
Whether you're an artist, content creator, or curious about what really drives YouTube success—this episode is for you.
00:10 Impact of TikTok Ban
04:11 Content Formats and Artist Strategies
13:30 Navigating Artist Preferences
19:49 Comparing YouTube and Spotify
This episode is presented by State Farm, the home for your small business needs. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.
Listen in for our Chartmetric Stat of the Week.
Trapital is where technology meets culture. Hear breakdowns on the most important trends in tech, media, and entertainment. Trapital founder Dan Runcie and various guests break down the moves that shape the rest of society. Learn more