What Founders Get Wrong About Exits

Most founders think about building. Fewer think carefully about selling. In this episode, Dmitri talks with Phil Barry, the founder of music rights and licensing platform Blokur, about what he learned from nearly a decade of building and ultimately selling his company to Music Reports in 2024. Phil opens up about the early challenges of finding product-market fit, the long relationship-building that made the acquisition possible, and the operational details that can make or break a deal. He also reflects on what he'd do differently, why he'd push back harder on pressure to grow too fast, and what it felt like to finally step away after years of startup intensity. Whether you're an early-stage founder or mapping out your exit strategy, this episode is full of honest, practical perspective from a founder on the other side of the exit The news Why YouTube Is the Sleeping Giant of Music Catalog (Guest Column) Did Taylor Swift and Lyor Cohen Just Give the Music Streamers a Video Strategy? Apple Music's iOS 26.4 beta introduces AI-powered playlist tool Deezer debuts 'Flow Tuner' to help listeners tune its algorithm TikTok tests letting users stream full songs through Apple Music without leaving the app Apple Music Strongly Hints That It Won't Be Lowering Prices Following Spotify and Amazon Music Increases — How Much Will This Matter In 2026? The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think! Get Dmitri's Rock Paper Scanner newsletter.