Drew Taggart of The Chainsmokers and Mantis VC reflects on the managerial bottlenecks founders and artists encounter when trying to manage day-to-day operations.
Disclosure
Taggart: We do not care if AI trains on our music catalog
“We don't care about our music either.”
What-if
Taggart: Forward-thinking record labels could have built Spotify themselves
“If they had been forward-thinking and accepted that they would have created Spotify, we wouldn't be paying an extra 30% to a DSP.”
Insight
Taggart: AI tools expand access rather than entrenching incumbent musicians
“I think what it does is actually kind of the opposite, is like, it just allows more people to be able to make music, and perform music, and create an experience that other people connect to. Like, I think music is just, you know, is my personal favorite form o…”
Insight
Taggart: There is no formula for writing pop or dance hits
“You'd think that we'd have a formula now on how to, like, write a dance song at least, or write a pop song. Forget about trying to write, like, the truest song for you at that moment, but, like, it's still, it can come from anywhere, and it's so difficult, and…”
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Taggart: New dance artists sell out arenas despite modest Spotify numbers
“The stars of, the new stars of dance right now, that are doing like, blowing out Madison Square Gardens, or doing the basically festival sized crowds for their own shows, If you looked at them on their Spotify monthly listeners, like we were talking about earl…”
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Drew Taggart: World-building will become increasingly important for musical artists
“The world building of the whole thing is something that, you know, doesn't come naturally to every artist, which I think will be just be more and more important.”