I sat down with Steve Boom, VP of Audio, Twitch & Games, at the 2026 Trapital Summit to talk about the competition for your attention. Boom oversees Amazon Music, Wondery, Twitch, Audible, and more.

Steve and I discussed the company's partnership with Oprah Winfrey, the tradeoffs of podcast exclusivity, and Amazon Music’s future. We also talked about streaming prices, Twitch’s evolution beyond gaming, and how AI could help Audible reach more listeners worldwide.

CHAPTERS

01:24 Competing for Your Attention
03:09 Oprah and Podcast Exclusivity
06:35 Amazon Music’s Growth
09:31 How Amazon Measures Success
12:55 Free Tiers and Streaming Prices
17:45 Twitch Beyond Gaming
20:38 AI and the Future of Audiobooks

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Chartmetric Flow: Flow is Chartmetric’s new AI-powered music intelligence tool that helps music professionals turn complex data into actionable insights. Ask questions in plain language, discover trends, and get the information you need to make smarter decisions, all without digging through dashboards.

Learn more: https://flow.chartmetric.com/pricing/trapital

TRAPITAL

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Brazil’s biggest music stars can build massive audiences at home, while Nigeria’s global stars often find most of their listeners abroad. Both are finding success, but the paths to building those audiences look very different.

Sung Cho, founder and CEO of Chartmetric, joined me at the Trapital Summit to break down the company’s new report, The New Sound of Global Music. We discussed how music from Mexico, Nigeria, India, Japan, and Brazil travels across borders, why one global hit doesn’t guarantee lasting momentum, and what streaming numbers can miss. We also talked about Chartmetric Flow, how AI can help plan tours and identify brand partnerships, and why execution still matters when everyone has access to the same tools.

CHAPTERS

01:54 The Ripple Effect of Global Hits
05:39 Brazil vs. Nigeria’s Superstars
07:41 What Streaming Data Misses
10:53 Introducing Chartmetric Flow
12:16 Tour Planning and Brand Partnerships
14:53 Why Execution Still Matters

SPONSORS

Chartmetric Flow: Flow is Chartmetric’s new AI-powered music intelligence tool that helps music professionals turn complex data into actionable insights. Ask questions in plain language, discover trends, and get the information you need to make smarter decisions, all without digging through dashboards.
Learn more: https://flow.chartmetric.com/pricing/trapital

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Kevin Shivers started in an agency mailroom at 31. Today, he’s Co-President of Music at THE·TEAM, representing artists including Tyler, the Creator, Leon Thomas, and Kali Uchis. His approach to building the agency centers on teamwork, developing artists, and what he calls “unreasonable hospitality.”

Kevin sat down with Billboard’s Taylor Mims at the Trapital Summit to break down his journey, what he looks for when signing artists, and how he’s helped grow Tyler, the Creator’s touring business over 14 years.

They also discussed why stadium tours are making festival bookings harder, how fans are changing the way they buy tickets, and why selling out immediately isn’t always the right goal.

CHAPTERS

01:37 Building the Number One Agency
02:54 From the Mailroom to Co-President
06:42 Finding Artists with Staying Power
09:24 Tyler, the Creator’s Touring Growth
11:42 Festivals vs. Headline Tours
15:05 Stadiums and the Live Music Business
17:12 Ticket Sales and Sellout Strategy

SPONSORS

Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week.

Chartmetric Flow: Flow is Chartmetric’s new AI-powered music intelligence tool that helps music professionals turn complex data into actionable insights. Ask questions in plain language, discover trends, and get the information you need to make smarter decisions, all without digging through dashboards.
Learn more: https://flow.chartmetric.com/pricing/trapital

TRAPITAL

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KevOnStage has millions of followers, a growing production company, and the largest creator deal Tubi has signed to date. But live touring still drives roughly 60% of his revenue, while his TV shows are more about building his long-term business.

Kev and I sat down at the Trapital Summit to break down his business model, why he can sometimes make more money selling 300 tickets at a church than 1,000 tickets at a traditional venue, and his frustrations with Live Nation and Ticketmaster fees. We also discussed his Tubi deal, the importance of ownership, lessons from Tyler Perry and Issa Rae, and how he's building an audience across platforms.

CHAPTERS

02:00 Tubi Deal and Ownership

07:29 KevOnStage's Revenue Breakdown

12:23 Live Nation and Ticketmaster Economics

17:23 Why Kev Prefers to Tour in Churches

20:11 Tyler Perry and Issa Rae

25:53 The Creator Business Flywheel

SPONSORS

Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week.

Chartmetric Flow: Flow is Chartmetric's new AI-powered music intelligence tool that helps music professionals turn complex data into actionable insights. Ask questions in plain language, discover trends, and get the information you need to make smarter decisions, all without digging through dashboards.

Learn more: https://flow.chartmetric.com/pricing/trapital

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I sat down with Primary Wave CEO Larry at the Trapital Summit.

When Larry started Primary Wave in 2006, the company had roughly $60 million to invest. Twenty years later, Primary Wave raised a record $2.2 billion fund dedicated. It has partnered with the estates and catalogs of Whitney Houston, Prince, Bob Marley, James Brown, Luther Vandross, and more.
Larry and I talked about how Primary Wave evaluates music rights, recent acquisitions, the rise of capital in the space, the criticism that the firm has given, and more. CHAPTERS

07:53 What makes a music catalog valuable
11:38 Active vs. passive management
12:16 Whitney Houston, Prince, and other estates
16:36 Why Primary Wave acquired Kobalt
23:09 The future of music rights valuations

This conversation was recorded live at Trapital Summit 2026 in Los Angeles.

Listen here: Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Overcast

Links mentioned:

Primary Wave Music

Primary Wave’s acquisition of Kobalt

Primary Wave’s $2.2 billion Music IP Fund IV

Trapital Summit 2026

Why Investors Are Looking Beyond Iconic Music Catalogs — Trapital’s conversation with Flexpoint Ford’s Mike Morris

Presented by Chartmetric

The third annual Trapital Summit is officially in the books.

We are joined by MIdiA Research's Tati Cirisano to look back on what happened in Los Angeles, from the standout moments on stage to the conversations that continued throughout the room.

We break down the ideas that sparked the most discussion, the biggest takeaways from the day, and what the Summit revealed about where music, media, entertainment, and finance are headed next.

We also reflect on how the event has grown over the past three years and preview the Summit conversations coming soon to the podcast.

CHAPTERS

01:51 Entertainment Convergence
04:15 Platforms vs. Artists
06:14 Suno’s Major Label Deals
08:56 Netflix and Music
14:40 Finance vs. Artist Development
16:53 Merch and Fandom
18:19 KevOnStage’s Business Model

SPONSORS
Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week.

Symphonic: Distribute your music to one of the largest networks in the industry. Symphonic delivers your music to over 200 digital service providers ensuring that you’re monetizing every stream and use of your music on Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more

TRAPITAL

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In our final bold prediction before Trapital Summit, Guillaume de Chalendar, Executive Vice President and Head of Media and Entertainment Banking at Banc of California, joins us to discuss the growing wave of capital entering the music industry.

Guillaume explains why artists and rights holders may borrow against their catalogs instead of selling them, along with the risks of overleveraging valuable music assets. We break down lender rights, foreclosure risk, capital stacks, rising loan-to-value ratios, and why choosing the right lender and advisors matters more than ever.

Join us at Trapital Summit on September 15:
https://www.trapital.com/summit/2026

CHAPTERS

02:22 Capital Influx
02:43 Catalog Loans
03:22 Foreclosure Risk
06:12 Banks vs. New Lenders
06:40 Sell, Borrow, or Stack?
08:23 Music ABS Growth
11:08Trapital Summit

SPONSORS

Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week

Symphonic: Distribute your music to one of the largest networks in the industry. Symphonic delivers your music to over 200 digital service providers ensuring that you’re monetizing every stream and use of your music on Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more

TRAPITAL

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AI music’s legal landscape is getting more complicated. We break down three questions at the center of the debate: whether AI can learn from copyrighted work, how companies obtain training data, and whether AI-generated outputs compete with original music.

Then, Vydia co-president Jenna Gaudio and NVIDIA’s Shari Reich share bold predictions about context-aware listening and how AI could unlock the value of existing music catalogs.

Trapital Summit 2026 is happening on Tuesday, September 15 in Los Angeles. Get your tickets here: https://www.trapital.com/summit/2026

CHAPTERS

02:52 Three Copyright Questions

08:12 Why AI Firms Still License

10:54 Trapital Summit

13:24 Jenna Gaudio’s Prediction

18:45 Context-Aware Listening

21:57 Rights and Infrastructure

23:44 Shari Reich’s Prediction

25:27 Unlocking Music Catalogs

27:12 AI as a Tool

30:49 Catalog Is the New Content

SPONSORS
Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week.

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Dolly Parton’s most valuable asset wasn’t

her music, it was her theme park.

We kickoff the episode with an exploration

of Dollywood.

Then on our road to Trapital Summit, Shot Tower Capital’s Rob Law and Antwyne DeLinde joins us for bold prediction: Why AI could increase the value of human-made music, improve royalty collection, and strengthen catalog cash flows.

Musixmatch Co-President Marco Paglia also predicts that, within three years, every AI-generated song will be licensed before it is created, opening the door to personalized music and entirely new revenue streams.

The Trapital Summit is happening September 15 in Los Angeles. Get your ticket here:
https://www.trapital.com/summit/2026

CHAPTERS

03:33 Dolly Parton’s Legacy

05:54 The Artist Wealth Funnel

08:49 AI’s Upside for Music

11:49 Predicting Catalog Cash Flow

16:23 AI and Catalog Values

19:21 Licensing Before Release

22:42 Personalized Music

26:41 Musixmatch’s AI Framework

28:47 What Needs to Change

SPONSORS
Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week.

Symphonic: Distribute your music to one of the largest networks in the industry. Symphonic delivers your music to over 200 digital service providers ensuring that you’re monetizing every stream and use of your music on Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more

TRAPITAL

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Could music become Netflix’s next big content category?

In this episode, we break down Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl’s case for bringing music to Netflix, why it could give both Netflix and the music industry more leverage against YouTube, and how advertising could make the opportunity more compelling.

We also explore the challenges, from licensing economics and consumer behavior to whether Netflix actually needs a full music offering.

Then, on the road to Trapital Summit, Epidemic Sound’s VP, Strategic Music Partnerships, Jesper Staffas joins us for a bold prediction: traditional record labels and music companies will increasingly look like IP law firms with music divisions.

CHAPTERS

04:39 Why Music Wants Netflix

09:34 The Case for Netflix

10:18 Netflix’s Ad Opportunity

13:34 Why Netflix May Pass

16:16 The Consumer Behavior Problem

21:18 Should Netflix Test Music?

25:21 Bold Prediction: Music’s Legal Future

26:01 More Lawyers Than A&Rs?

27:30 Music Licensing and Brands

Get your tickets here - September 15 in LA: Trapital Summit Tickets

SPONSORS

Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week

Symphonic: Distribute your music to one of the largest networks in the industry. Symphonic delivers your music to over 200 digital service providers ensuring that you’re monetizing every stream and use of your music on Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more

TRAPITAL

Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.

The music business has changed dramatically over the past decade, especially in the independent sector.

We sit down with Flexpoint Ford's Managing Director, Mike Morris, to discuss why independent music has become such an attractive investment opportunity, how fragmentation creates value, and how investors weigh catalog ownership against infrastructure, services, and technology.

We also explore what makes a music investment durable in an increasingly competitive market.

CHAPTERS

02:26 Why Independent Music Is Winning

03:42 Infrastructure and Artist Catalogs

05:23 Diversified Portfolios

13:49 Music’s Biggest Opportunity

17:47 Are Legacy Catalogs Overpriced?

23:34 AI and Music Investing

27:57 The Weeknd's Catalog Deal

Get your tickets here - 9/15 in LA: Trapital Summit Tickets

SPONSORS

Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week

Symphonic: Distribute your music to one of the largest networks in the industry. Symphonic delivers your music to over 200 digital service providers ensuring that you’re monetizing every stream and use of your music on Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, and more

TRAPITAL

Where technology shapes culture. New episodes and memos every week. Sign up here for free.