Ads, algorithms, and reversing capitalism in art, with producer and musician Nicholas Byrne ’19

Catalyze invited Nicholas Byrne ’19 of Arts + Crafts back to the series to talk about his latest music projects, and because we thought you might want to learn more about the artist behind the music that’s featured on the show. We first brought Nicholas to Catalyze in October 2020 as the producer, guitarist, and singer was road-tripping across the country with Eric Lee ’18 and Sam Lowe ’20. Nicholas spoke with us from Smithonia, an unincorporated community about 20 minutes outside Athens, Georgia. He shared about his collaborations with Sam (whose music project is called Sacra Monet) and singer-songwriter and guitarist Audrey Walsh (UNC-Chapel Hill Class of 2023), a DJ at Carolina’s student-run radio station, WXYC 89.3 FM. Nicholas also talked about how AI-powered tools will advance digital music production, how a “shake-up” in the creative landscape of social media platforms could shift dollars back into the hands of content creators, takeaways about manipulating sound and light from Berlin’s music scene, and a new opportunity on the horizon in New York City.More about the musicSam is a graduate student at Stanford University pursuing a master’s degree in computer science with minors in cognitive science and music. Follow the alumnus at @sacra.monet on Instagram or on Spotify. Nicholas earned his bachelor’s degree from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media with a minor in music. In addition to his music, Nicholas works on freelance video assignments and digital advertising and social media campaigns. In spring 2021, the alumnus was accepted into the MFA program in lighting design at the Parsons School of Design in New York City.Follow Nicholas @art.sandcrafts on Instagram or on Spotify.This episode also featured music by Jake Wilson (UNC-Chapel Hill Class of 2020) of Untldsnd.Note: This interview was conducted over the internet for a video recording. You can view the video teaser for this episode on Morehead-Cain’s Youtube or Instagram page. How to listenOn your mobile device, you can listen and subscribe to Catalyze on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. For any other podcast app, you can find the show using our RSS feed.Catalyze is hosted and produced by Sarah O’Carroll for the Morehead-Cain Foundation, home of the first merit scholarship program in the United States and located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. You can let us know what you thought of the episode by finding us on Twitter or Instagram at @moreheadcain or you can email us at [email protected].