Your Morning Coffee Podcast

Episode 318 This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  RIAA 2026 Mid-Year Report: Streaming Growth Drives Revenue to $6 Billion, CD Sales Increase More Than 50%. •  Jason Isbell Files Class Action Lawsuit Claiming Suno Coded AI to 'Extract Musicians' Identities'. •  Trump Administration Just Sided With OpenAI In a Key 'Fair Use' Case. What It Means For Music's Fight With           Anthropic and Suno. •  New Report Asks - Who Owns the Systems Behind Indie Music?   Plus an audio drop with Steve Shirley from Soundcloud on letting artists sell tracks directly from their profiles.                                                  Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

YMC Special Episode - A Conversation With Sound Exchange President & CEO Michael Huppe. On the special episode, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart sit down with Sound Exchange's Michael Huppe in a wide ranging conversation about AI and the industry reponse, Washington policy and who should set rules for AI, the future of AI, what to do now to protect artist royalties, and what it's really like to testify before congress.                                                    Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 317 This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  The Music Industry Is in Good Shape - Despite What You May Have Heard •  How Is Each Music Listening Platform Treating AI Music? •  Best Practices for Launching Albums and Series in a Crowded Entertainment Marketplace •  The Amazon "Pain" Forest   Plus an audio drop with Kristin Robinson from Billboard on the different policies for streaming AI generated music.                                                  Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

  On this very special YMC episode, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart sit down with MIDiA's VP of Music Strategy Tatiana Cirisano and Head of Data Perry Gresham to discuss their recently released  "MIDiA Research 2026-2033 Global Music Forecasts - A Diversifying Market", which was written by Tatiana and Perry, along with Mark Mulligan, Mark Qi, Olivia Jones and Pierre Lewis.  Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 316 This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Spotify's Playlist Editors Now Explain Their Picks To Listeners, And Get Their Own Public Profiles •  OP-ED: Blue Dot Fever Isn't a Ticket Sales Problem. It's a Good Old Fashioned American Greed Problem •  Robert Kyncl Justifies Suno Deal, as UMG and Sony Press on with Lawsuit: 'In My Opinion, You Embrace It.' •  5 Things To Know About Suno's BMG Licensing Deal - Download Caps, Watermarks, and More   Plus an audio drop with Kristin Robinson from Billboard on the challenges of labeling AI generated music.                                                  Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 315 This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Suno Inks Global Licensing Deal With BMG, Ahead Of Launching New Music Model •  Global Recorded Music Retail Revenue to Top $121 Billion by 2033, MIDiA Report Says •  Spotify To Label AI Artists With New 'AI Persona' Badge – Keeping Their Music Out Of Recommendations By Default •  The Illegal Sellers, Costing Musicians Millions in Revenue   Plus audio drops with Sam Duboff, Spotify's Global Head of Music Policy on their new "AI Persona" badge, and Steve Knopper on his piece for the WSJ on counterfeit merch! Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 314 This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Spotify Hits 300M Premium Subscribers in Q2, Adding 7M, As Streamer Posts $762M Operating Profit. •  The "Stadium Nations": What's Driving the Global Touring Boom? •  The Music Industry Is Trying to Guess the AI Recipe "After Dinner Was Served". •  A 'Pressing' Issue: Why Are Vinyl Albums Becoming So Different From Their Digital Versions?     Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 313 This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Majors, Believe, BMG, Concord, HYBE (and more) Propose Chart Eligibility Rules for AI Music •  Grammys CEO Defends New Asian Pop Category After BTS Says They Won't Participate in 2027 Awards •  Once You Hear It: The 'Gen Alpha Melody' Is Everywhere •  10 Biggest AI Music Artists Have Made $6.1 million on Spotify and YouTube, Report Suggests   Plus an audio drop with Matt Urmy, CoFounder & CEO at Artist Growth.   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 312 This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  The Trouble With Labeling AI Music: Why a Proposal to Add 'AI' Tags Is Missing the Point •  8 Music Business Stories to Watch in the Last Half of 2026 •  90,000 AI tracks Flood Deezer Daily – Passing 50% of All New Music Uploads For the First Time •  Major Album Launches Are Leaving Streaming. What Will Bring Them Back?   Plus an audio drop with Sam Ramirez from Spotify   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Special Episode: A Conversation with Dan Mackta, the Managing Director at Qobuz   Your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart chat with Dan about what makes Qobuz a different DSP, the challenges of AI, and who's listening to high rez audio.   Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 311 This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Luminate Midyear Report 2026: R&B/Hip-Hop Falls, Dance Rises, CDs Surge 16% & More •  Suno Scraped YouTube, Deezer to Train AI, Hacked Code Reveals - Potentially Strengthening UMG & Sony's Case •  Spotify's Editorial Playlists Look Enormous, But They're Shrinking •  Your Catalog Might Be Your Best Marketing Asset, Here's How To Use It   Plus an audio with Craig Meyer from GigLogic!   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Special Episode: A conversation with Jaime Marconette, the VP Music Insights and Industry Relations at Luminate.   Your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart chat with Jaime about their just released Mid-Year Report, Trends in Music, TV & film. We discuss the health of the music business, a spike in CD sales, growth areas, music documentaries and, of course, AI.   Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 310 This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Analyzing the 12 Top Music Business Stories of 2026 - So Far •  The Future of the Music Creator Economy •  RIAA, IFPI & More Come Together to Create System for Tagging AI-Generated Songs •  StubHub's 'Marketplace for Fans' is Run by a Mass Scalper, According to SEC Filings   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Special Episode: A conversation with Manuel Moussallam, the VP of Research & Data Science at streaming service Deezer.    Your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart chat with Manuel about a variety of topics, including AI detection, their User-Centric model approach, and the challenges all streaming services have to navigate in the marketplace today.    Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 309   This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Spotify Slashes Streams of Hit Song after Suspicious Activity on Prediction Market Kalshi •  Viberate Opens Music Data to ChatGPT, Claude and Other AI bots Via Official MCP Server Launch •  Google Says AI Training Is Fair Use and Copyright Should Be Policed on Outputs, Not Inputs •  The Trends Defining Music, Culture & Brand Marketing in 2026   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Special Episode: A conversation with Graham Davies, the prersident of the Digital Media Association (DIMA).   Your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart chat with Graham about a variety of topics from their recently released 2026 Annual Report.    Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee 

Episode 308   This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Suno Launches Artist Incubator, Offering Grants and Marketing to Indie Talents •  Why Artists Can't Ignore Vanity Metrics •  The Science Behind Ticketing: How Artists & Their Teams Price Tours •  The Label Model Is Training Artists Not to Need Labels   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Special Episode: An Indie Week second edition live conversations with Jay Gilbert and CD Baby's Molly Neuman, Bandcamp's Aly Gillani, and Sean Johnson from Top Drawer.     Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee 

Episode 307   This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  The Music Industry Is Closing In On A Billion Global Subscribers—with Spotify Out In Front •  No Fakes Act, Bill Meant To Curb Unauthorized Digital Replicas, Clears Senate Judiciary Committee •  Warner and UMG are Quietly Asking Artists for Their Stems •  Four Music Datasets Holding Millions Of Tracks Are Being Shared Among AI Developers   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Special Episode: An Indie Week live conversation with Jay Gilbert and Nettwerk's Mike Jowett and Partisan Records Zena White.    Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee 

Episode 306   This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Google Asserts That YouTube's Terms of Service Allow It to Train AI Models •  NMPA Reports Spotify and Amazon Bundling Cost Nearly $500M in Lost Value Since 2024 •  WMG Acquires Sureel AI, a Platform That Aims to Protect Music and Other Assets From Unauthorized Use and   Monetization •  Indie Venues Call For 'Dismantling' the PRO's Blanket Licensing Practice     All of this plus Jeremy Sirota drops in to talk about "Breaking Into The Music Business"     Jeremy's list of 100+ music companies: https://tinyurl.com/4zk88n4u   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 305   This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  The AI Music Streaming Flood: Where We're At •  Will Live Nation & Ticketmaster Really Get Broken Up? •  Meta Launches Paid Subscriptions: Is the Era of Free Social Media at an End? •  Suno Raised $400M Ahead of New AI Model Made in Partnership With Music Industry Establishment        Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 304   This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  TikTok's AI 'Text to Song' Trend May Be a Sign of Music to Come  •  The Midyear Box Score Report Shows Growth — But It Has Finally Slowed Down? •  Clipping campaigns: marketing's next move in a fragmented attention economy •  A Full List of Music-Related Legislation Before Congress Right Now     Plus an audio drop from Duetti's CEO Lior Tibon   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 303   This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Live Nation Must Be Broken Up From Ticketmaster After Monopoly Verdict, States Tell Judge •  Spotify and Universal Music Group strike landmark deal to let fans create AI covers and remixes •  Spotify's Head of Music Announces 'Reserved' Ticketing Initiative: •  If I Ran Spotify....   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 302   This week, your hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  "Blue Dot Fever" is a scalper narrative. Don't fall for it. •  Sync Is Dying (Quickly) •  Virgin Music Co-CEOs On Downtown Deal, Fighting Fraud With Price and Why They're With a Major •  "The Feed Is Fake"   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

This week, hosts Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Rap On Trial: The Long Battle to Keep Hip-Hop Lyrics Out of Court •  The US Copyright Office is hiking registration fees by 43%. Indy music orgs say artists won't be able to afford it. •  Spotify wins motion for arbitration in 'payola' lawsuit •  Udio admits to scraping YouTube audio for AI training in answer to Sony Music lawsuit   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Special Episode: A Conversation With mtheory EVP of Marketing and Digital Strategy Ed Rivadavia. In this conversation, we talk about his path, audience growth & engagement, tools & tactics, and even AI as it relates to marketing.   Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee 

Episode 300 This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Concord and BMG Confirm Merger - Observations •  An Idiot's Guide to Music AI •  Universal is Selling 50% of its Spotify Stake, Generating Around $1.4B •  Universal Music Artists Can Reap Millions From Spotify Stock Sale,Thanks to Taylor Swift   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

Welcome to another special episode of the Your Morning Coffee podcast, a conversation with Jeffrey Smith, Vice President of Marketing for Alliance Entertainment.   If you're listening to a vinyl LP today, changes are, it came through Alliance. Jay Gilbert sits down to talk about releases on physical products like CDs and vinyl, Alliance vs Amped, and the truth about vinyl buyers who actually own a record player.   Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 299 This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  In the Age of Generative AI, It's High Time for Artists to Organize. •  The Death of the Record Deal •  How AI Rights Are Changing Record Contracts — and Why Music Attorneys Are Pushing Back •  The Other Vinyl Revolution: Why the Used Record Market Shouldn't Be Overlooked   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Special Episode: A Conversation With RIAA Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier.   In his 25 years at the RIAA, Glazier has played a vital role in the music industry's transition to streaming and "anywhere, anytime" access to music.    Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee 

Episode 298   This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Everything to Know About the Live Nation Verdict, What It Means for Fans, and What's Next •  Universal's Michael Nash takes aim at 'False narrative of artist Replacement' by AI •  Someone Used AI to Steal a Song •  A Love Letter to the Music Industry in 2026   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Podcast special episode: A conversation with Oana Ruxnadra, Chief Executive Officer at PopHatch.    Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee 

Episode 297   This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  The State of Music Streaming in 2026 •  As Live Nation Trial Ends, Jury Must Decide If It's a 'Monopolistic Bully' or a 'Fierce Competitor' •  The Music Business Has a Problem. Bill Ackman Just Pounced •  A Folk Musician Had Her Voice Cloned by AI—And Her Recordings Claimed by a Copyright Troll. Welcome to 2026.     Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Podcast special episode: A conversation with Russ Crupnick, Managing Partner of MusicWatch.   Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee 

Episode 296   This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Inside the Digital Marketing Agency that Creates Your Musical Taste •  The Architecture of Affinity: How Instagram Facilitates Music Superfandom •  The Taylor Swift Effect: Why Music Deals Are Getting Shorter And Smarter   Subscribe to the newsletter! : YourMorning.Coffee

A Your Morning Coffee Podcast special episode: A conversation with 2X Grammy award winning record producer, A&R executive, music publisher, university professor and president of Pure Tone Music Pete Ganbarg.   Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee 

This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Inside the Secret Tactics Digital Marketers Use to Make Songs Go Viral in 2026 •  How Music Streaming Saved the Industry but Stifled the Artist. •  How Prediction Markets Are Changing the Music Industry •  Tools, not tricks: How musicians are actually using AI.   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee!

This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  10 Quick (and crucial) Takeaways from IFPI's GLOBAL Music Report 2026 •  US Wholesale Recorded Music Revenue Reached $11.5B in 2025, As Paid Streaming Subscriptions Hit 106.5M •  No One Gives a Shit About Your Pre-Save Campaign   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee!

This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   •  Everything You Need to Know About the Live Nation Settlement and What Comes Next •  The Problem with AI Companies 'Starting Fresh' •  80 Artists Generated Over $10M Each From Spotify Last Year. Over 1,500 Generated Over $1M. Here's The Full Breakdown.   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee!

This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   • 'The Concert Ticket Industry Is Broken,' Justice Department Says As Ticketmaster Trial Begins •  The 6 Biggest Music Industry Trends of 2026 •  No More Foreplay - How Streaming Has Changed Song Structure   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee!

A Your Morning Coffee Podcast special episode: A conversation with Musician, Executive, and Educator, Drew Thurlow, Author of MACHINE MUSIC - How AI is Transforming Music's Next Act.  https://machine-music.ai/  

This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   • The Death of Spotify: Why Streaming is Minutes Away From Being Obsolete • Artist Representatives Launch 'Say No To Suno' Campaign • Primary Wave Nears Deal to Acquire Kobalt, Which Would Create a $7B Indie Music  Powerhouse Take the YMC Industry Survey! https://tinyurl.com/pzd8sn5y   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee

The YMC AI Roundtable #3 On this very special episode of the YMC podcast, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart convene a third edition AI Roundtable special since so much continues to be happening in this space.  Our panel joining us on this latest special is Kristin Robinson (Billboard), Dani Deahl (Caldecott Music Group), Vickie Nauman (CrossBorderWorks), and Bobby Owsinski (Music 3.0).    Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

This week, Jay Gilbert & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   • "The Sinister Question Spotify Has Not Answered About Its AI: What Did They Train On?" • "Open Letter: Irving Azoff Gives Kudos To Billboard Charts For Standing Up To YouTube" • "Noah Kahan Wanted Buying Tickets to Be Fair for Fans — Here's How He Made It Happen"   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee!

This week, Jay Gilbert  & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   • "Spotify Eyes AI 'Derivatives' As New Revenue Stream For Artists –Says Its Technology To Let    Fans Make Remixes And Covers Is Ready" • "Songs Are Reaching 1bn Spotify Streams 14x Faster Than A Decade ago:  This, And Other Stats From Chartmetric's 2025 Year In Music Report" • "Could a Combined BMG & Concord Create a Fourth 'Quiet' Major Label?"   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee!

A special episode of the Your Morning Coffee Podcast: A conversation with audio engineer, producer, musician and author Bobby Owsinski.    We discuss how AI is now involved in the recording process, as well as the roles and responsibilities of engineers, mixers and producers in today's studio environment.     Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

This week, Jay Gilbert  & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   • "Fan Burner Accounts: Music's Latest Dirty Secret" • "Universal and Suno are in a PR battle over 'Walled Gardens' in AI Music" • "iTunes Isn't Just Surviving — It's Becoming a Superfan Powerhouse"   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee!

This week, Jay Gilbert  & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   • "Who Is Building the Future of AI Music? Start With These 11 Companies" • "Billboard "Power 100" Honorees Answer This Question: What Are Your Frustrations With the Music Industry Right Now?" • "Could An Upload Fee Help Fix Music Streaming? "   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee!

A special episode of the Your Morning Coffee Podcast: A conversation with Lisa Hresko and Ian Harrison from A2IM (American Association of Independent Music). A2IM is the US independent music coalition of more than 700 independent labels.   We discuss A2IM's mission, goals, initiatives and the tireless work they do on behalf of the independent music community.    Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

This week, Jay Gilbert  & Mike Etchart break down these important music industry stories:   • "'Fake as F**k: The Wannabe Rock Star Accused Of Scamming Streamers" • "Suno Is 'The Ozempic Of The Music Industry,' CEO Says—'Everybody's On It And Nobody    Wants To Talk About It'" • "Where Will Spotify's Q4 2025 Monthly Active Users Land? The Week In "Prediction Markets."   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee!