Trapital

Now that Wasserman Agency has rebrand itself to "The Team," what's next? Who will lead The Team? Who will the new owner be? What will they do with it? Elsewhere in the talent agency world, CAA has a new managing director for music touring, and UTA's longtime leader has stepped down. Who will lead the next era?

I am joined by Ben Sisario from the New York Times to unpack the talent agency business, the leadership and reputational questions surrounding the companies, and what it all signals about succession, private equity, and the future of agency power.

CHAPTERS

05:05 Wasserman's Rebrand

08:23 Sale Scenarios

12:52 Margins And Risk

21:16 Why Music Lags

26:08 The Black Box of Talent Agencies

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Linktree: Share music, sell merch, and connect with fans on one simple link. Linktree is the #1 link in bio tool that musicians and artists use to connect fans to everything they do.

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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As streaming growth slows, the music industry is searching for its next big opportunity. One of the leading bets? AI-powered music creation.

I'm joined by MIDiA Research’s Tati Cirisano to break down whether platforms like Suno represent a true growth engine or just another niche product.

We explore the rise of consumer creation, the limits of the “superfan” narrative, and why the future of music revenue may be more fragmented than the industry hopes.

CHAPTERS

02:10 Rise of AI music tools
06:00 The superfan idea
14:30 The superfan landscape
22:30 Suno’s growth
40:00 AI vs. streaming
46:00 Labels and deals
52:00 Streaming’s future

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Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week

Linktree: Share music, sell merch, and connect with fans on one simple link. Linktree is the #1 link in bio tool that musicians and artists use to connect fans to everything they do.

TRAPITAL

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

The Department of Justice has settled its lawsuit against Live Nation - Ticketmaster. There will be no breakup of the live entertainment company, but Live Nation has agreed to several remedies in an effort to improve the ticketing industry. But more rust that’s settled… what’s next? What will this change?

In this episode, we are joined by returning guest and NYU professor Larry Miller to break down the DOJ’s settlement with Live Nation/Ticketmaster.

We also dig into the bigger question fans care about most: will this make tickets cheaper?

CHAPTERS

04:13 Why Did DOJ Want to Settle?

11:14 Will Ticket Prices Fall?

13:05 Primary vs. Secondary Ticketing Market

22:48 StubHub and SeatGeek’s Challenge

24:56 Live Nation’s Consent Decree

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Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week
Linktree: Share music, sell merch, and connect with fans on one simple link. Linktree is the #1 link in bio tool that musicians and artists use to connect fans to everything they do.

TRAPITAL

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

Investors have poured more money into music than ever before. Music as an asset class if hotter than ever,. But the public markets have discounted the value of music companies:

UMG stock is currently trading near its all-time low

WMG trades at a discount on its earnings relative to UMG

RSVR is going through a takeover attempt

Several publicly traded music companies have been taken off the public markets

This is a huge disparity, and it was time to explain why.

In this solo episode, I break down this paradox. We will also connect the dots to real estate, the post-2021 repricing, and why more take-private attempts may be ahead.

CHAPTERS

00:10 Private vs Public Money in Music

07:26 Similarities in Music

08:19 2021 Reset

15:10 WMG and UMG

24:02 What’s Ahead

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Chartmetric: Listen in for our Stat of the Week


Linktree: Share music, sell merch, and connect with fans on one simple link. Linktree is the #1 link in bio tool that musicians and artists use to connect fans to everything they do.

TRAPITAL

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