Episode 107: Why Great Songs Go Unheard (And How AI Can Help Them Find Their Audience)

Episode 107: Why Great Songs Go Unheard (And How AI Can Help Them Find Their Audience)

A song can be great and still miss its audience, simply because nobody knows where to place it. That problem sits at the heart of my conversation with Zotz - the strategist, music executive, and CEO of Rocketship Music, a new platform built to help artists understand exactly where their track fits before they spend money promoting it.  We talk about the practical reality of modern music marketing for independent artists: choosing a “single”, defining genre and mood, writing targeting, and making decisions with tiny budgets while the industry often waits for TikTok or streaming algorithms to pick winners. Maxwell explains how Rocketship compares your music to similar releases across decades, then uses that historical context to point towards likely audiences and smarter next steps. The goal is not to replace taste or creativity, but to stop creators shooting in the dark and to reduce wasted spend on the wrong channels.  We also go deep on what responsible AI in the music industry looks like. Rocketship is not an AI music generator, and Zotz breaks down the legal and ethical hurdles of building “AI that listens” without training on copyrighted recordings in the way most people assume. From there we explore where AI genuinely helps musicians today: saving time on workflows, improving planning, and freeing artists to focus on writing, recording, and performing.  Finally, we look ahead to a market where AI increases the volume of new music and raises the stakes for human artists. Our shared takeaway: fandom, live connection, and knowing who truly resonates with your work becomes even more important. If you enjoy these deep dives into A&R, artist development, and music tech, subscribe, share the episode, and leave a review. What’s the one question you wish you could answer about your audience right now? https://rocketship.music Reach out to me ! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373814/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373814/support] Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to The Music Business Buddy Brief for weekly insights on the future of the music industry, AI, artist development, rights and the creator economy. The podcast explains what's happening. The newsletter explains why it matters. Join The Music Business Buddy Brief for exclusive weekly insights on the future of the music industry. Subscribe: https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com] Websites www.jonnyamos.com [https://jonnyamos.com/] https://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.com/] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/] https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/ [https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/] Email jonnyamos@me.com Newsletter Sign Up https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com/]

Episode 106: Can AI And Music Rights Coexist?

AI music tools are moving fast, but one issue keeps poisoning the well: models trained on copyrighted songs with little or no visibility into what went in. When creators cannot see the training data, they cannot consent, negotiate, or get paid, and we end up stuck in a bleak loop of scrape first and litigate later. I want a better outcome, and I think we already have a blueprint hiding in plain sight. I unpack how legal sampling works through TrackLib and why it is more than a niche producer tool. It is a rights and provenance system: pick from a cleared catalogue, create, clear before release, and ensure credit and compensation reach the right people. Then I map that logic onto generative AI in the music industry with a licence-first approach: opt-in training catalogues for labels, publishers, artists, and other rights holders; a training provenance database that shows what was included; revenue participation through royalties or usage-based payouts; influence reporting; and clear commercial rights so users know what they can release. We also face the tough questions head-on: scale, value allocation across millions of training tracks, the difference between influence and copying, and the competitive pressure that makes unlicensed scraping tempting. I point to early proof-of-concept signals, including companies pursuing licensed training and partnerships with major rights holders and organisations, and I explain why moving beyond a flawed declaration model matters. If you care about music copyright, AI training data transparency, and building fair royalties for creators, listen through and tell me where you land. Subscribe, share with a creator friend, and leave a review so more people can join the conversation. Reach out to me ! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373814/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373814/support] Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to The Music Business Buddy Brief for weekly insights on the future of the music industry, AI, artist development, rights and the creator economy. The podcast explains what's happening. The newsletter explains why it matters. Join The Music Business Buddy Brief for exclusive weekly insights on the future of the music industry. Subscribe: https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com] Websites www.jonnyamos.com [https://jonnyamos.com/] https://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.com/] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/] https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/ [https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/] Email jonnyamos@me.com Newsletter Sign Up https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com/]

Episode 105: How Micro-Licensing Could Change The Music Industry

You can feel it happening: people are watching less legacy television, and the internet is filling the gap with an endless stream of short-form video, livestreams, indie games, podcasts, and creator-led brands. That shift doesn’t just change how audiences consume media, it changes how music needs to be licensed. I’m looking at micro licensing, a model that could become a major force over the next five to ten years as the modern music industry scrambles to match the speed and scale of the creator economy. We unpack what micro licensing actually means in practice: moving away from a slow, negotiation-heavy sync licensing process built for rare, high-value placements, and towards instant clearance for thousands (or even millions) of smaller uses. I talk through why the pricing model matters, why creators sometimes default to AI-generated music when licensing is too hard, and how a long-tail revenue economy could create meaningful income for rights holders if the infrastructure is right. Then we get honest about the risks: value dilution, messy global rights, and the growing chaos around AI ownership and attribution. I also explore what could make this workable at scale, including strong metadata, smarter rights databases, and API-driven licensing that distributors could potentially plug into. Finally, I share a standout early market mover I’ve been researching, and why I’m pushing for independent artists, songwriters, and producers to be included rather than left behind. If you want to understand where music licensing is heading and how to prepare your catalogue for what’s next, listen now. Subscribe, share this with a fellow creator, and leave a review with your take: does micro licensing empower independents, or does it risk making music feel disposable? Reach out to me ! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373814/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373814/support] Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to The Music Business Buddy Brief for weekly insights on the future of the music industry, AI, artist development, rights and the creator economy. The podcast explains what's happening. The newsletter explains why it matters. Join The Music Business Buddy Brief for exclusive weekly insights on the future of the music industry. Subscribe: https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com] Websites www.jonnyamos.com [https://jonnyamos.com/] https://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.com/] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/] https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/ [https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/] Email jonnyamos@me.com Newsletter Sign Up https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com/]

Episode 104: What Sustainable Artist Development Really Looks Like (With John Hart)

Most artists don’t fail because they lack talent. They fail because they rush, chase the wrong signals, or hand over control before they understand what they own. I’m joined by John Hart, A&R consultant and artist management specialist, for a straight-talking look at what sustainable artist development really means in today’s music industry. We get specific about what a good manager looks for and it’s not “who might get a hit”. John explains why he backs long-term career potential, why songwriting still sits at the centre of modern revenue, and how authenticity is built through clear identity rather than rigid genre rules. We also dig into audience thinking: who your fans are, what they value, and how that should shape everything from your visuals to your live strategy. From there we go deep on deal structures and rights. We talk publishing deals that fund recording, working with producers as true creative partners, and why keeping control of masters can open up options later through licensing deals, catalogue value, and smarter investment. We also cover the unglamorous money: neighbouring rights, mechanicals, and metadata, plus the mistakes artists make by releasing too early and treating Spotify like a shop instead of a discovery platform. We finish with the big shifts ahead, including AI, market fragmentation, and the resilience you need to survive rejection and keep moving. If you’re building a serious independent music career, hit subscribe, share this with an artist mate, and leave a review. Which part of your career needs a clearer plan right now? Reach out to me ! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373814/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373814/support] Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to The Music Business Buddy Brief for weekly insights on the future of the music industry, AI, artist development, rights and the creator economy. The podcast explains what's happening. The newsletter explains why it matters. Join The Music Business Buddy Brief for exclusive weekly insights on the future of the music industry. Subscribe: https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com] Websites www.jonnyamos.com [https://jonnyamos.com/] https://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.com/] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/] https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/ [https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/] Email jonnyamos@me.com Newsletter Sign Up https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com/]

Episode 103: What Great Music Producers Actually Do (With TenRoc)

Most music producers spend years trying to be louder, faster, and more impressive in the room. Tenroc argues the opposite;l the real edge is knowing what the song needs, then doing only that. Jonny Amos sits down with the New York songwriter-producer behind work connected to artists like Jon Bellion, Rihanna, the Jonas Brothers and Julia Michaels, and pulls back the curtain on how modern sessions actually function. We dig into the messy, practical question every producer faces - am I here to write, to build tracks, to programme drums, to play instruments, or to get out of the way? Tenroc explains how he reads the room, protects the creative flow, and builds relationships that last even when the song never gets released. He also shares a personal turning point: moving from behind-the-scenes work into putting out an album as an artist, driven by a clear sense of purpose. If you love craft, you will enjoy the nerdy details. Tenroc breaks down how he learned “commercial” sound through chart study and reverse-engineering, why emotion is often innate, and how tools like GarageBand, Logic Pro and FL Studio shaped his workflow. We also tackle the underrated skill that gets producers paid: finishing songs, using song structure to hold attention, and understanding when a verse, pre-chorus, hook, or bridge should appear. Finally, we talk music publishing in plain language - what a good publisher actually does, and why taste and collaborator fit matter more than chasing the biggest name on paper. If you want practical music production advice, major label session reality, and a clearer path for artist development, press play, then subscribe, share with a producer friend, and leave us a review. Reach out to me ! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373814/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2373814/support] Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to The Music Business Buddy Brief for weekly insights on the future of the music industry, AI, artist development, rights and the creator economy. The podcast explains what's happening. The newsletter explains why it matters. Join The Music Business Buddy Brief for exclusive weekly insights on the future of the music industry. Subscribe: https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com] Websites www.jonnyamos.com [https://jonnyamos.com/] https://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.buzzsprout.com/] Instagram https://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/ [https://www.instagram.com/themusicbusinessbuddypodcast/] https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/ [https://www.instagram.com/jonny_amos/] Email jonnyamos@me.com Newsletter Sign Up https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com [https://themusicbusinessbuddy.beehiiv.com/]