Penny Lane is a show about the business, economics, and technology of music streaming, hosted by Matt Squire and Shawn Yeager, and presented by Trustream.

This Week’s Guest

Erik Mendelson is co-founder of Cre8tor and Tune Token. Erik got his start in the music business working in promotions for Elektra Records. He continued to hone his skills in marketing and promotions for Jive Records, and then notably as SVP of Marketing and Promotion at Digiwaxx Media. At Digiwaxx, Erik drove national marketing campaigns and partnerships with clients including SonyBMG, Cingular Wireless, Sony Erickson, Puma, Columbia Records, and the beloved Microsoft Zune. RIP.

We asked Erik join us to share his insights on the impact of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology on the present and future of music streaming. We got that, and a whole lot more.

Highlights

In this episode, we cover topics including:

• The challenges of record deals and royalties collection


• How do we solve the music industry’s “data problem?”


• Raising money in music tech


• The continuing importance of radio


• Why brand-building beats chasing hits


• The importance of authenticity — on being a rockstar


• How streaming deals and the fundamental economics must change to make real money for artists


• How blockchain and cryptocurrency’s future bridges to the traditional music industry


• On getting back to record labels as peddlers of cool

Resources

• Erik’s Blockchain Music Company Comparison


• Cre8tor


• Tune Token