Your Morning Coffee Podcast

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!

This week, Jay & Mike break down these important music industry stories:   • Luminate's 2025 YearEnd Music Report • Music Streaming Platforms Now Host A Quarter Of A BILLION Tracks. Where Does It End? • Who Evaluates Music Authorship?   Subscribe to the newsletter: YourMorning.Coffee!

YMC Special Episode - A Conversation With Luminate's Jaime Marconette On this very special episode of the YMC podcast, your host Jay Gilbert speaks with our friend, Luminate's Jaime Marconette, about their recently released 2025 Year End Music Report.  Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

YMC Special Episode - A Conversation With Keith Jopling On this very special episode of the YMC podcast, your host Jay Gilbert has an in-depth conversion with author, podcaster and music strategist Keith Jopling  about his new book Body Of Work. Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 284 On this week's episode of the YMC podcast, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart cover these important stories: "UMG's Latest Major AI Partnership Arrives Via Tech Giant NVIDIA,With Promise Of 'Antidote To Generic AI Slop'" (Murray Stassen for Music Business Worldwide); "Sir Lucian Grainge Talks AI Music, Superfans In 2026 Memo, Taking Swipe At Firms (that are) 'Validating Business Models That Fail To Respect Artists' Work'" (Murray Stassen for Music Business Worldwide); "Streaming Innovation Highlights From The Past Year" (DIMA (the Digital Media Association).   Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee    

YMC Special Episode - A Conversation With Morgan Hayduk & Andrew Batey from Beatdapp On this very special episode of the YMC podcast, your host Jay Gilbert has an in-depth conversion with Beatdapp co-founders and co-CEOs Morgan Hayduk and Andrew Batey about the state of fraud in the music business.  Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 283 On this the first episode of the YMC podcast for 2026, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart discuss these important music industry stories: "Spotify And The Cost Of Chasing Numbers" (Ariel Hyatt); "2025 - The Year In Music" (Bob Lefsetz); "The BOTS Act Was Created By Ticketmaster. So Why Is The FTC Using It Against Them?" (A Guest Column For Billboard By Barry Kahn). Plus audio drops from Rick Beato on artists promoting their own music, and Liam Mason on the 5 most f**cked up things Spotify did last year.    Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 282 On this last edition of 2025 for the the YMC podcast, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart discuss these important music business stories:  "Anna's Archive, Spotify, And The Shadow-Library Playbook: Why Spotify Is A Crime Scene" (Chris Castle's Music, Tech Solutions Blog); "Music Lawyer Chris Castle Shares His 2026 Music Predictions" (Hypebot); "Xania Monet's Manager And BMAC's CEO Debate AI Artists' Place On Charts And Streaming Services" (Billboard Staff).   Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee  

YMC Special Episode - A Conversation With Author and Economist Will Page On this very special episode of the YMC podcast, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart call into our friend, author and economist Will Page to chat about his most recent report entitled "Global Value of Music Copyright Reach $47.2B in 2024".   Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 281 On this week's edition of the YMC podcast, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart discuss these important music industrry stories: "Podcaster, Writer & Consultant Jay Gilbert's 2026 Music Predictions!" (Jeremy Young for Hypebot);  "Global Value Of Music Copyright Reached $47.2 Billion In 2024, Says New Will Page Report" (Murray Stassen for Music Business Worldwide);  "Billboard Just Made 'Free' Streams Worth More On Its US Charts. But YouTube Is Not Happy – And Is Pulling Its Data" (Mandy Dalugdug for Music Business Worldwide).  Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 280 On this latest installment of the YMC podcast, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart discuss these important music industry stories:  "How To Market Old Artists? A Lot Like Marketing Younger Artists, Survey Finds" (Glenn Peoples / Billboard); "How Country Songwriters Are Combatting - And Adopting - Artificial Intelligence" (Tom Roland / Billboard); "Do Music Stars Write Their Own Songs? A Statistical Analysis" (Daniel Parris / Stat Significant). Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

YMC Special Episode - A Conversation With Geoff Halliday On this very special episode of the YMC podcast, your host Jay Gilbert sits down with Downtown Artists and Label Services SVP of Global Marketing Geoff Halliday. They discussed all of the different aspects of what Downtown does, as well as the crafting of individual release stategies that actually grow engaged audiences. Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 279 On this week's edition of the YMC podcast, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart cover these important music industry stories: "What Do The Suno And Udio Licensing Deals Mean For The Future Of AI Music?" (Kristin Robinson at Billboard); "Congress, Please Close Radio's 'Music Loophole'" (An Op-Ed from Gene Simmons of KISS for the Washington Post); "Spotify Wrapped 2025 Is Here — And It's More Vital To The Company's Bottom Line Than Ever" (Millie Giles at Sherwood).  Plus an audio drop from Rob Abelow from Openstage.   Subscribe to the newsletter! YourMorning.Coffee

Episode 278 On this week's edition of the YMC podcast, your hosts Jay Gilbert and Mike Etchart cover these important music industry stories: "Warner Music Group Strikes 'Landmark' Deal With Suno; Settles Copyright Lawsuit" (Murray Stassen at Music Business Worldwide); "It's About Time Spotify Raised Subscription Prices In The U.S." (Jem Aswad at Variety); "In Staff Memo, iHeartRadio Exec Says Company Won't 'Play AI Music' Or Use 'AI Generated Personalities'" (Kristin Robinson at Billboard).  Plus an audio drop from Rick Beato on The AI Race Is Over.    Subscribe to the  newsletter! YourMorning. Coffee