MDLSKL

S3E6: Wrapped 2020

December 18th, 2020  |  Season 3  |  34 mins 1 sec

b-side, charts, concerts, data, eminem, halsey, justin bieber, live shows, mgk, mtbmb, music, musictech, podcasts, russ, sales, spotify, streams, tech, wrapped

This week, we put the spotlight on MDLSKL's year in review, unpacking the data behind our listening habits and what has made 2020 a year to remember (or forget). We explore active trends, our predictions and what we're expecting for 2021 and beyond.

S3E4: In Defense of Spotify

October 11th, 2020  |  Season 3  |  37 mins 7 secs

album, apple, billboard, charts, deezer, labels, music, new, podcast, ranking, release, revenue, royalties, songs, spotify, strategy, streaming, tech, tiktok, youtube

This week, we discuss the controversial comments of Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek, suggesting that the secret to success in the digital era is not higher payout rates, but more output from musicians - "You can't record music once every three to four years and think that's going to be enough".

S3E3: Olivier Robert-Murphy | Chief of Possibilites at UMG

July 13th, 2020  |  Season 3  |  17 mins 5 secs

a&r, agency, apple music, b2b, b2c, brands, business, cds, charts, collaboration, creativity, deezer, digital, distributor, income, labels, marketing, media, music, new artists, new business, partnerships, physical, podcast, rankings, revenue, songs, spotify, streaming, tech, tiktok, umg, umgb, universal

As Chief of Possibilities at Universal Music Group (UMG), Toulouse-born Olivier Robert-Murphy’s desire to seek out inventive and collaborative business concepts never wavers.

Driving New Business around the world, Olivier leads an award-winning team of global music, content and partnership experts, recognised as THE creative company for music, culture and brands. Servicing more than 500 brands yearly, across 70 markets, they provide innovative campaigns and focused insights to help local and global brands truly connect with their audiences and find their unique voice in culture.

This week, we sit down with Olivier to learn more about his story and discuss the current state of the industry.

S3E2: Warner Music Group IPO

June 23rd, 2020  |  Season 3  |  32 mins 28 secs

apple music, artist, atlantic, competition, coronavirus, covid-19, deezer, dsp, ed sheeran, elektra, finance, funds, hip hop, ipo, label, madonna, mgk, music, musician, musictech, pandemic, pop, private equity, public markets, publishing, rap, record deal, rock, run the jewels, shares, spotify, stock, tech, tencent, tidal, venture capital, warner, warner music, wmg, youtube

With the spotlight on Warner Music Group (NASDAQ: WMG) as the year's biggest U.S. IPO, this week we dig deeper into WMG and the hotly contested battle between labels, digital service providers and other industry players.

S3E1: Jon Connor

May 31st, 2020  |  Season 3  |  37 mins 26 secs

#bestintheworld, aftermath, all varsity music, anderson paak, avm, compton, defjam, dr dre, eminem, jay-z, jon connor, kendrick lamar, mdlskl, mixtape, music, podcast, sos, tech, the game, vehicle city

As Dr. Dre's 'Compton' protégé, Jon Connor recently parted ways with Dr. Dre's Aftermath label to seek independence under his new imprint All Varsity Music Group. With the release of his highly-anticipated "SOS" album, we sat down with the Flint, Michigan native to learn more about his journey.

S2E7: Release & Monetisation Strategies

May 3rd, 2020  |  Season 2  |  32 mins 35 secs

album, blink 182, china, concerts, content, content creation, coronavirus, covers, covid-19, creation, creativity, dababy, drake, eu, experiment, fintech, fortnite, g-eazy, happiness, happy, ian diorr, mgk, mixtape, music, musictech, new, old, pandemic, samples, song, spotify, tech, travis scott, twitch, uk, usa, youtube

As the world continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic, we explore the industry-wide implications of COVID-19 on release and monetisation strategies.

S2E6: Music Consumption - The Coronavirus Effect

April 13th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  35 mins 10 secs

artists, catalogue, china, classic, concert, cooking, coronavirus, covid-19, depression, europe, events, happiness, happy, health, mental health, music, music videos, musictech, new, old, pandemic, performance, playlists, safety, soundcloud, spotify, tech, uk, us, workout, youtube

As we continue to self-isolate, this week we explore how COVID-19 has affected music consumption patterns and streaming trends over this time.

S2E5: COVID-19 Edition

March 29th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  23 mins 7 secs

artists, china, concerts, coronavirus, covid-19, depression, europe, events, happiness, happy, health, insurance, jesse reyez, joyner lucas, mental health, music, musictech, pandemic, safety, soundcloud, spotify, tech, uk, us, weeknd, youtube

As the world sits in lockdown, this week we explore new music to help us get through this time. Furthermore, we discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the industry and the implications it may have on its future.

S2E4: Music IP - An Attractive Asset Class?

March 8th, 2020  |  Season 2  |  37 mins 59 secs

alternative assets, alternatives, artists, assets, catalogue, coachella, coronavirus, covid-19, dcf, ftse, fund, hipgnosis, income, insider trading, intellectual property, invest, investment, ip, model, music, music ip, musictech, old school, pglang, return, rights, royalties, russ, s&p, songs, soundcloud, spotify, stock market, stocks, sxsw, tech, uk, us, valuation, yield, youtube

With the onset of COVID-19, world stock markets suffered their worst week since the 2008 financial crises. On the contrary, music is a uniquely positioned asset class with very little correlation to the stock market. This week, we put the spotlight on investing in music IP as an alternative asset class.

S2E3: A Tale of Two Justins

February 23rd, 2020  |  Season 2  |  40 mins 13 secs

20/20, bieber, black eyed peas, changes, commentary, funk, futuresex/lovesounds, gen z, hailey baldwin, hailey bieber, hiphop, itunes, jessica biel, justified, justin bieber, justin timberlake, lil dicky, man of the woods, michael jackson, millenials, missy elliot, music, musictech, neptunes, pharrell, podcast, poo bear, pop, post malone, prince, purpose, r&b, rick rubin, scooter braun, spotify, tech, timbaland, timberlake, usher, will.i.am

Fourteen-years ago, 25-year old Justin Timberlake unleashed his career-defining 'FutureSex/LoveSounds' - An album desperately ahead of its time. At 25-years old, Justin Bieber released 'Changes', the follow-up to his 2015 comeback album 'Purpose'. This week, we contrast and compare the career evolution of Justin Timberlake and Justin Bieber.