Everyone keeps talking about “the good old days” — but were they really that good? Or just better at hiding the bullshit? This episode kicks off with the Magic Wand Question (00:00): If you could wave a wand and change one thing about the music industry, what would it be? From equity to ownership to toxic structures, the crew goes straight for the pressure points. Then the convo pivots to influence, ownership, and the illusion of visibility (09:04). They unpack why artists are more “seen” than ever — and somehow still more broke, more leveraged, and more replaceable. Next, they hit the playlist culture trap (17:53). Are artists really breaking, or are they just being broken? They challenge the idea of “going viral” as a business model and expose the short-term mentality baked into modern rollouts. They go deeper into infrastructure and the death of the middle class artist (26:36), asking why nobody is building long-term systems for sustainability — just hype cycles and fake momentum. That leads into a fire section on cultural shifts and authenticity (35:38), including what kids are actually responding to in music right now — and how misreading that leads to disconnected marketing and generic output. Then it’s time to face the beast: AI in music (44:25). The crew unpacks the truth behind the hype, what tech is really doing to the industry, and how power is shifting — again — away from creators. They follow that with a sharper critique of tech’s role in replacing human taste (53:32). It’s not just tools replacing jobs — it’s platforms shaping culture by algorithm instead of instinct. The group slows it down for a raw talk on mental health, pressure, and community (62:16), sharing what it feels like to work in a system that rarely prioritizes humans. From there, it’s back to the money. They break down the realities of platform promotion and investor games (71:01) — who’s getting paid, who’s getting used, and why most “promotion” isn’t actually for you. Finally, they close with a call for ownership and real change (80:04). It’s not enough to make content. You have to build something that’s yours.

In this episode, Melanie McClain (Founder of Blurred Lines, DSP Music Programming) Michael Pelczynski (Co-Founder Voice-Swap and EVP Rostrum Pacific) Sabrina Kalimian (artist manager & founder of Childish), and Donny Slater (GM, Third + Hayden and Co-Founder, ROLLOUT)