The launch of Napster in June of 1999 ushered in a new era for the music industry. Music was pulled kicking and screaming into the digital era and the demise of the CD format was not long off. The subsequent collapse in revenues for music, caused the industry to reluctantly embrace streaming platforms like Spotify it also caused far reaching ripple effects we are still living with today in both music and culture at large. Here to explain is Dr. Aram Sinnreich. Aram is a Professor and chair of the Communication Studies division at American University’s School of Communication. His work focuses ..read more

The connection between music and human beings runs deeper than you might think. Humans are innately musical beings - and our relationship with music has been deeply intertwined since the homo sapiens first emerged. Our guest today is Michael Spitzer, who boldly makes the case that music is the most important thing we ever did; and is in fact a fundamental part of what makes us human. Michael is a British musicologist and professor of Music at the University of Liverpool. He is the author of four books including his most recent, The Musical Human: A History of Life on Earth. The book is the fir ..read more

At Beatseeker, we’re constantly looking for new ways to discover good tunes. HotDrop is a new app that guides music lovers and discoverers through a feed of underground indie music. In their words, HotDrop “... keeps your music taste fresh with millions of new songs you've never heard before.” Here to tell us how it all works is HotDrop’s CEO Max Goldberg. Max and his co-founder Steven Segel founded the company in their Indiana University dorm room. Max is a self-taught app developer and sold his first app venture when he was still in high school. He joins us from Portland, Maine. Check out ho ..read more

Any concertgoer will tell you that good tickets are hard to come by, cost an arm and a leg and charge an obscene amount of service fees. Ticketmaster has a firm stranglehold on the business of concert ticketing and ever since merging with promoter and venue operator Live Nation in 2010, critics have pointed to an unfair marketplace for consumers. Here to break down the problem is Krista Brown, one of the people fighting to break up the monopoly in an effort to put an end to their unparalleled influence over the ticketing market. Krista is a Senior Policy Analyst at the American Economic Libert ..read more

Classical music is making a big comeback. More and more people - including the younger generation - are enjoying music that was written hundreds of years ago. Do recent tech developments, like streaming and social media have something to do with reawakening these age-old works? Here to help us understand the classical revival is Jess Gillam. Jess is the first ever saxophonist to be signed to Decca Classics and her debut album “Rise” shot to No.1 in the Official UK Classical Charts. She became the youngest ever presenter for BBC Radio 3 and hosts her own weekly show called “This Classical Life ..read more

Today’s episode is our year end wrap-up where we look at the biggest tech trends impacting music and we contemplate where things may be headed in 2023 and beyond. We wanted to discuss the music metaverse, the state of Web3, the increasing popularity of old material and ‘streaming fatigue’. We discuss these developments with legendary storyteller Alan Cross. Alan is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. Based in Toronto, he is best known nationally and internationally as host of the syndicated radio series The Ongoing History of New Music, T ..read more

Can the music industry come together to lower our carbon footprint and save the planet? A unique organization is working to transform the music industry to address our climate emergency because in their words, there is #NoMusicOnaDeadPlanet”. Here to tell us about the initiative is Fay Milton. Fay is co-founder of Music Declares Emergency, a group of artists, music industry professionals and organizations that stand together to declare a climate and ecological emergency and call for an immediate governmental response. She is a presenter of the music and climate podcast Sounds Like a Plan produ ..read more

Nashville. Seattle. New Orleans. These are but a few examples of cities that have organically developed incredible music scenes. But in fact, any city can encourage their local music scene so residents can benefit culturally, economically and in a host of other ways. Today we speak with Shain Shapiro who helps cities understand these benefits and create the right policies to enable them. Shain is the founder of Sound Diplomacy and a globally recognised thought leader at the convergence of music, culture and urban policy. He has influenced over 100 cities and places to invest in music and cultu ..read more

Biology would teach us that animal noises are purely functional - the sounds animals make for attracting mates or warning of danger are evolutionary adaptations necessary for surviving in the wild but nothing more. Our guest today contends the story is more complex than what you learned in bio class. Animals can make music and it’s even possible to jam with them. To help us sort out this musical jungle is David Rothenberg - a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, with a special interest in animal sounds as music. He is also a composer and jazz musician wh ..read more

Heavy metal music might not conjure up images of positive mental health, but research shows that for some people, a little metal might be just what the doctor ordered. It’s time to challenge those negative stereotypes and learn about the health benefits of metal. While we’re at it, we’re going to find out why sharks love heavy metal too. Joe Daly is an award-winning music journalist who joins us today to explain the healthy metal paradox. Joe regularly contributes to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Men’s Health and Bass Player Magazine among other outlets. We reached him in San Diego. Learn more a ..read more