Back in the day, as a young, hungry agent, I had a rule of thumb: if I heard about a new artist three times in a week, I’d stop whatever I was doing and find a way to introduce myself to that artist or their team. It allowed me to meet and work with a lot of up-and-coming artists and stay on the pulse of what was next. The music business has changed since then, but the strategy has legs. …

This weekend, the festival season officially kicks off with Coachella. We had a strong warm-up with Dreamville last weekend, and J. Cole outdid himself by dropping a surprise album, I Might Delete Later, the night before the fest. That’s a next-level marketing stunt and shows how non-artist driven festivals can’t compete with true fandom when it’s well orchestrated. But Coachella is the big kahuna. It’s the pinnacle of festival style and sets the tone for the year with its brilliantly …

Heading into Q2 is always a good moment for Spring cleaning and reflection on what’s transpired in the year so far. From my standpoint, the industry is looking solid across the board. The primary way I see music changing is through perceived value. During the early 2000s, music was viewed as free by consumers. Now, through private equity, venture capital, the labels, the streaming companies, and the artists, this has changed. The conversation around music as an undervalued commodity is …

The world has entered an era of transformation. Everywhere I look, there is significant change taking place. Mark Zuckerberg dubbed 2023 the year of great efficiency. We got through it, it was tough, but we are still feeling ripples of it this year. Big companies are firing and tightening their belts. Public companies are letting go of their workforce, creating new dynamics and putting a lot of great talent on the sideline. Sometimes, change happens slowly before it happens very …

AI is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetime and there is a lot of talk about how it will impact music. Although I’ve got a list of areas in which the music business needs help, overall it is in a very healthy place. It’s the healthiest I’ve seen it in my career. So, from my perspective, music doesn’t “need” AI’s help, per se. That said, it will absolutely make a positive impact. One exciting shift happening in …

I just returned from a few awesome days at SXSW. I had a blast workshopping new ideas, seeing old friends, meeting rising stars, and connecting with colleagues and clients. We generated a heap of new leads and heard about what’s next as we head into a pivotal year of technological advances and global transformation. It’s tipping point time in tech. The world is changing and tech is razor focused on changing it for the better. SXSW still has “it,” although …

AI is one of the most transformative technologies of our lifetime and there is a lot of talk about how it will impact music. Although I’ve got a list of areas in which the music business needs help, overall it is in a very healthy place. It’s the healthiest I’ve seen it in my career. So, from my perspective, music doesn’t “need” AI’s help, per se. That said, it will absolutely make a positive impact. One exciting shift happening in …

March is Women’s History Month, an exciting opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come as a culture, and how much further we still have to go to achieve true equality at home and abroad. This week, my friend Cynthia Nelson released a podcast with me. Cynthia has founded multiple companies and is a thought leader in the world of live shopping and shoppable marketing. I was glad to chat with her on this fast paced, idea-packed episode. Wednesday is the …

We are living in a time of great uncertainty, but also great progress. There has not been a successful moon mission since 1972, but last week that changed when SpaceX’s NASA-funded Falcon 9 rocket, Odysseus, landed on the Moon after launching from Cape Canaveral, FL. My brother, Alex, was on hand for the launch. This achievement not only demonstrates the incredible progress we’ve made in space exploration, but the prospect of the Moon becoming a thriving hub for scientific research …

Musicians are a transmissible force that can move into the deep cracks and corners of culture faster and with less friction than any other creative community. That’s why we’re seeing so many artists crossover into other areas of mainstream culture. The number one box office movie this week is Bob Marley: One Love. Like Bob’s music, the film is destined to bring folks together worldwide. It’s already being deemed the second largest biopic ever, behind only Bohemian Rhapsody, while today’s announcement …

Coming off the Super Bowl and The Grammys – two massive pop culture moments – I’ve been thinking differently. Ratings were up across the board and the Super Bowl was the most watched event in the history of television. Between the Swift Effect and an OT playoff win, the NFL couldn’t have written a better script. Music was a key theme throughout Super Bowl weekend – from the amazing, diverse performances, to so many of the commercials highlighting musicians and …

There’s a lot happening in the world of music this week. The Clios are tonight, the Grammys are Sunday, and the days in between are slam packed with celebrations for major artists, indies, executives, streaming services, marketers, and law firms. Here’s a good rundown of events. The industry, on a macro level, has been on a growth trajectory over the past decade. It’s in a very healthy place but, clearly, there are big shifts happening again. A good bellwether was the …

Next Wednesday, January 31st, is what I cheekily like to call “music and brand marketing’s biggest night.” It’s the annual Music Clio Awards aka the Grammys of music advertising. This year, the event has been folded into Grammy Week in LA. I’m glad to see brand marketing and partnerships getting more shine since the people who devise them are, in many ways, the unsung heroes of the music business. This is especially true of the past decade and even more …

2024 is shifting into full gear. I’m looking at the roadmap and it’s power packed. Last weekend kicked off Award Season with The Golden Globes, honoring the best and brightest of 2023 across film & TV. This week focuses on the future, with CES and all of the trends in consumer electronics. And then we roll into Sundance, where Alex will be positioned. From there it’s The Clio Music Awards, The Grammys, and all that’s sandwiched in between. I’ll definitely see you …

We are in need of new heroes. Not just public defenders of the people, but also those with a vision we can all get behind. I feel like this is a big opportunity. We need to help find and develop the next generation of heroes via content, movies, TV, social media, politics, business, and music. Identifying a generation of visionaries is a big challenge, and how we find them is important. Over the holidays, I did a lot of reflecting …