In this episode of The Business Side of Music, host Sarah Fleshner interviews Rio Kareff, Co-President of Musixmatch and one of the most influential innovators in digital music. With more than 30 years of experience at the intersection of music and technology, Rio has helped shape nearly every major shift in the industry — from launching the first artist websites for Michael Jackson and The Beatles, to selling the first major-label digital download, to pioneering the iTunes 99-cent model, to co-founding Vevo.

Today, Rio leads Musixmatch, the world's largest lyrics and music data platform powering Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, and Meta. In this conversation, he breaks down how Musixmatch built one of the largest ethically licensed music datasets in the world and how their newest AI-powered product, Music Lens, is transforming the way artists, managers, publishers, and labels analyze and monetize music.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How AI is reshaping the music industry

• What Musixmatch does and why lyrics data is so valuable

• How Music Lens provides insights for sync licensing, catalog management, and royalty forecasting

• Why ethical licensing and creator transparency matter more than ever

• Real examples of how AI can help creators uncover new opportunities

• The future of digital music, rights administration, and data-driven decision-making

💡 Special Offer for Listeners:
Get 15% off Musixmatch Pro — the platform trusted by millions of creators to manage lyrics, metadata, and discovery.
Use code BSOM15 at checkout.

If you're an independent artist, artist manager, publisher, label executive, or anyone interested in AI in music, music data, sync licensing, or the business of digital music, this episode is packed with insights you won't want to miss.

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