As we head into Brandweek, I’m thinking hard on the intersection of brands and music. I’m doing a panel with Matt Graham (co-founder of Range Media Partners) and Jennifer Frommer (SVP, Branding and Commercial Licensing at Columbia Records). Both Matt and …
Hit List for the New Season
Does anybody else feel like Q4 is about to kick into overdrive? The summer might be over, but the year is far from it. There remain ample opportunities to make an impact in 2024. I’m flying back from The All-In …
Tennis is Open for Business
It’s my favorite time of the year again. No, not back to school, although I do love how certain brands make this their Super Bowl. No, not post-Burning Man photo dump week, although I do love a good Playa recap. …
Has The Music Business Peaked?
Has the music industry peaked? Ha! I’ve been away for a while. Did you miss me the past few weeks? 😉 On his podcast, The Town, Matt Belloni recently asked, “Has The Music Business Peaked?” I think there’s a reason …
The Olympics Culture Report
I’m starting to get obsessed with this year’s Summer Olympics. Normally, I’m not as into it, but this year, I’m really feeling the excitement. Maybe it’s an escape that lets me set aside the speculation and unpredictableness of our current …
New Formats
I’m obsessed with formats and I love exploring how to present art and culture in ways that can be repurposed. Alternate formats offer a unique perspective and breathe fresh life into content. In London this weekend, I had the chance …
45 Career Lessons
This week marks not only America’s birthday, but the anniversary of my 45th trip around the sun. I was greeted by a call from one of my oldest, closest friends yesterday, who was whispering the opening lines of “Living on …
Q2 Music Industry Trends, Insights, and Sentiments
What a year! Can you believe we are halfway done? Here are some themes we saw in Q2: Music Business Outperforms NASDAQ and the DowAs Q1 earnings wrapped, companies ONCE AGAIN delivered much better profitability than street expectations, but music …
On Broadway
Good morning. Hope you had a nice Juneteenth holiday. Amazon Music and Kendrick Lamar (& Friends) pulled off a beautiful event to commemorate the holiday yesterday. The Pop Out was a remarkable show of the strength of the Los Angeles community. This …
Creators > Influencers
Influencer marketing has become an integral part of the promotional mix these days. However, I’ve noticed that some of the influencers are losing the plot. Having striking eye lashes or the most ripped shoulders on Earth doesn’t make you a …
The Changing Media Landscape
Greetings from 10,000 feet in the sky. I’m leaving Utah headed for New York City, coming off a very inspiring few days at the 15th PTTOW. This is a gathering of some of the brightest minds in marketing as well …
Party With A Purpose
June is about to be in full bloom. As soon as I touch down in NYC next week, I’m looking at Tribeca Film Festival premieres, NY Tech Week, NYC Music Month, Governors Ball, The Music Managers Forum Summit, Indieweek, and the …
Soundtrack of Summer
Summer is here, and as we head into Memorial Day weekend, we can officially kick off the Summer of 2024. There’s a lot to look forward to this summer. Some key themes are going to be: NYC’s Music Month & Indie …
We Will Dance Again
This month an exhibit opened in NYC called “The Moment The Music Stopped”. The exhibit brings us through the in-depth story of what happened at the Novo Music Festival in Israel and its larger impact on the world and on …
The Music & Brands Report Recap
May 1, 2024
Over the weekend, I engulfed myself in a series of articles and videos. The SponsorUnited Brands and Top Music Artists 2023/2024 report was perhaps the most fascinating. It is filled with interesting insights that I tried to summarize and internalize below.