Dan Runcie
Founder of Trapital; analyzes the business of hip‑hop, labels, deals, catalogs, and artist monetization.
Resilience Pays: Clive Davis Bounced Back Stronger
Clive Davis was fired by Columbia, pushed out at Arista, but bounced back stronger each time. It’s a great lesson on resilience and leverage.
Whitney Waited to Sing Until Life Matched Lyrics
Whitney Houston once said no to a song because she hadn’t lived it yet, but came back to it later once she did. Clive Davis tells the full story:
Secure Your Spot in AI-Driven Music Industry
"If you don't claim a seat at the dinner table, you're liable to wind up on the menu." I spoke to Michael Nash, Chief Digital Officer & EVP of @universalmusicgroup and @kakuls, CEO of @splice at HumanX, the AI conference in...
Cardi B’s Festival Fees Jumped From $70K to $400K
In 2018, Cardi B was paid $70k per weekend to do Coachella. She spent over $300k+ on production and staging. She saw it as an investment. By 2019, she regularly got $400k+ to perform at different festivals. Cardi B’s rates are likely...
Coachella’s Evolution Shows Festivals Thrive over Decades
Coachella 1999: • 25k tickets for $50 each • One weekend, two-day event • Lost $1M+. Almost bankrupt. Didn't return till 2001. Coachella 2026: • 250k ticket sold for $649+ each • Two-weekend, six-day event • $150M+ ticket revenue Music festivals are a long game.
Big Artists Skip Festivals, Driving Costs and Talent Gaps
Coachella’s dilemma is this: Big artists no longer need festivals. But festivals cost more money than ever to run. Higher prices. Fewer A+ level stars. Tougher product to sell.
Even Strong Brands Can't Justify Premium for Weak Products
It's tough to consistently sell a weaker product for higher prices, no matter how strong the brand is. That's the Coachella dilemma in one sentence. We did a full breakdown on Coachella in a recent episode of Trapital with @realdavebrooks Follow...
Ackman Proposes Michael Ovitz as UMG Chairman
Part of Bill Ackman's proposal to buy Universal Music Group for $64 billion is to name a new chairman of the board, Michael Ovitz:
Brand Partnerships Deliver Higher Margins Than Talent Commissions
Talent agencies get commissions from representing entertainers, but higher margin deals come from brand partnerships.
Kanye's Post‑release Updates Pioneered, yet Remain Rare Today
It’s been 10 years since The Life Of Pablo. After its release, Kanye updated several tracks via streaming. Remember his tweet “Ima fix Wolves”? This was new ground. Living art. Many thought this would become common. But for various reasons, it’s rarely...
Quincy Jones Estate Sells MJ Catalog Rights to Investors
The Quincy Jones estate sold a large portion of his music rights to HarbourView Equity Partners, which included an interest in Michael Jackson’s albums: Off The Wall, Bad, and Thriller. Jackson’s catalog is believed to be one of the most valuable...
AI Music: Emerging Growth Market or Niche Play?
AI music has a ton of interest, but how big will the market get? What are the segments? Will this be a primary revenue driver for music in the future, or more of a niche product? We dug into this on...
Tina Turner's Music Rights Switch to Pophouse
Tina Turner's music rights have switched hands for the second time in five years. 2021: Turner sold catalog + NIL rights to BMG for $50M 2026: Pophouse bought majority stake from BMG Pophouse launched the ABBA Voyage show in London. Let's see what...
Top 80 Spotify Artists Earn 20% of Payouts
Spotify’s top 80 artists generated $10M+ each in royalty payouts in 2025. I estimate that these artists generated $2B total, nearly 20% of Spotify’s payout pool. Here’s how I see it:
Music Catalogs Command Premiums While Stocks Trade Discounted
Music’s biggest catalogs are selling at a premium, but music’s biggest stocks are trading at a discount.
Music Assets Surge While Public Music Stocks Slump
Music is more popular than ever as an asset class in private markets, but publicly-traded music companies are near their all-time low stock prices. Quite the paradox.
Music Assets Surge While Public Music Stocks Hit Lows
Music is more popular than ever as an asset class in private markets, but publicly-traded music companies are near their all-time low stock prices. Quite the paradox.
No Role Modelz
No Role Modelz is now the 3rd most streamed 2014 song on Spotify. The song has became more and more valuable over time. It’s the type of song that catalog investors would love to own.
J. Cole's 2014 Track Beats Pop Giants in Streams
J Cole’s “No Role Modelz” is the third-most-streamed song from 2014 on Spotify. More daily and total streams than “Blank Space”, “Uptown Funk”, “Sugar”, and “Shake It Off.” Great example of why it’s hard to know in the moment which songs will...
Direct-to-Consumer Infrastructure Powers J. Cole’s Album Sales
Direct-to-consumer is still a big opportunity, even for the biggest artists in the world. That’s the opportunity EVEN saw. Build the infrastructure once, make it work at every scale, and help artists turn moments into sales. The company just powered J....
Duetti Secures $200M to Target Undervalued Music Rights
Duetti just raised $200 million. It built the infrastructure to invest in the music rights that other companies may overlook. My latest episode on Trapital sits down with Duetti CEO @ltibon to discuss. Check out our latest episode: "Follow The Money:...
Pure‑play Focus Beats Big Tech in Paid Streaming
The winners in paid streaming haven't been the deep pocketed companies. In music, it's been Spotify. In video, it's Netflix. That's not a coincidence. The difference wasn't talent or resources, the big tech companies have plenty. Instead, it was the pure-play...
YouTube Views Vs. Nielsen Ratings: Incomparable Metrics
Comparing YouTube views to Nielsen ratings is a mistake. YouTube’s views aren’t unique and only needs to be seen good a few seconds to count as a view. Nielsen measures unique concurrent viewers in an average minute. Apples and oranges.
Britney Spears Sells Music Rights, Deal Likely Low Nine Figures
Britney Spears sold her share of music rights to Primary Wave. Most of her masters are likely owned by major labels (via Jive). Max Martin wrote and produced many of her biggest hits. A low nine-figure deal is possible (as implied from...
Prediction Market Saw Gaga's Super Bowl Surprise Coming
At Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show, Lady Gaga made a surprise performance. But was it a surprise? Because the day before the Super Bowl, Polymarket had Lady Gaga at 85% likely to perform at the Super Bowl halftime show. That’s...