Dan Runcie
Founder of Trapital; analyzes the business of hip‑hop, labels, deals, catalogs, and artist monetization.
Garth Brooks' $2B Price Tag Seems Excessive
Garth Brooks wants $2B for his music catalog. People forget that Garth was a machine. Sold more albums in the US than anyone in the 90s. He controls his all his rights, and his music has never fully been optimized for streaming. That said, $2B is still very, very high.
RHCP Gets Quarter of $1.2B Catalog Fund, Proving Iconic Status
Warner Music Group and Bain Capital made a big bet on The Red Hot Chili Peppers. They allocated roughly 25% of a $1.2B catalog fund to buy the band’s recorded music catalog. The goal of the fund is to invest in “iconic”...
Managing Prince’s Estate Means Constantly Asking “What Would Prince Do?”
The toughest part of managing Prince’s estate? Answering an impossible question: “What would Prince do?” Troy Carter managed the estate from 2016 to 2021. He shared his experience in a recent talk we had in Austin. It was during DAWA’s Vision:8291...
Old Music Catalogs Now Bargains: When to Sell?
Most music catalog sales from 10+ years ago look like bargains today. Is there ever a good time to sell? We had Round Hill Music’s Josh Gruss on our show to discuss the latest trends in music rights transactions. His firm...
Running Prince’s Estate Reveals Challenges of Legendary Artist Management
Managing estates for legendary artists is a tough business. Troy Carter shares his experience running Prince’s estate for 5 years.
Music Catalogs Lose Value when Used in Low‑end Ads
“If you start putting these things in a f****** Ford Escort commercial, they become less and less valuable.” troycarterofficial talks about the rise of music catalog sales.
Clive Davis Reveals How He Revives Legends
Aretha Franklin. Santana. Dionne Warwick. Those are just a few of the legendary careers that Clive Davis helped revive. Here Clive explains his approach.
Michael Jackson's Estate Reverses $500M Debt, Says Troy Carter
Michael Jackson was over $500 million in debt at the time of his death. The estate has put in work to turn things around. Here’s Troy Carter on the estate’s impact:
Troy Carter Predicts AI’s Impact on Music Industry
I sat down with troycarterofficial We covered it all: AI, streaming, artists, catalog sales, and what’s next in music. You can listen to our talk tomorrow, April 28 on Trapital, wherever you get podcasts. This talk was recorded in Austin during...
Jackson's 1984 Victory Tour: A Chaotic Legend
The Jackson’s 1984 Victory Tour could have been its own movie: • Pepsi incident • Backlash over $30 tickets, sold in 4-packs • Promoter went bankrupt, sold NE Patriots • Don King being Don King • Jackson family drama Legendary tour, but also wild.
AI Powers Artists to Secure Their First 1,000 Fans
How AI helps artists find their first 1,000 fans. SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton explains how the “First Fans” product works.
Clive Davis Reveals Whitney's Early Rejection and Comeback
“This just shows how spoiled you are.” Clive Davis let Whitney Houston know how he felt when she first rejected “Why Does It Hurt So Bad.” But after relationship challenges with Bobby Brown, she came back around. I recently sat down with...
AI Board Features CEOs, Musicians, and Artists
One of the more compelling AI use cases: An AI board of directors, which includes CEOs from Canva, Figma, Universal Music Group, plus Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar. Here’s SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton:
Interview with SoundCloud CEO Eliah Seton Drops Tomorrow
I sat down with SoundCloud CEO eliahseton. You can watch and listen to our talk tomorrow, April 21, wherever you get podcasts.
TLC's Label Dispute Led to 1995 Bankruptcy, Says Davis
TLC was unhappy with their record label deal. The members filed for bankruptcy in 1995 despite their popularity. Clive Davis explains what happened.