Mike Butera, founder and CEO of Artiphon, shares how he’s reimagining musical instruments for everyone—making music creation as approachable as taking a photo. In this episode of Innovating Music, we explore how sound studies, sociology, and product design converge in...
Innovating Music Podcast
Music Discovery with Jason Kramer: Radio Curation, Emerging Artists, and Audience Connection
KCRW DJ and veteran music curator Jason Kramer shares his perspective on music discovery in a digital-first world. In this conversation, Kramer discusses the instinct and human connection that guide his curation, the role of radio in championing emerging artists, and...
Jordy Freed Sony Audio Strategy – From Jazz to Global Brand Leadership
Jordy Freed, Director and Head of Brand & Business Development at Sony Corporation of America, has navigated a career that defies traditional industry pathways. In this episode of Innovating Music, Freed shares how his early love for jazz and technology shaped his...
I fell in love with IP . . . with Mike Huppe, SoundExchange
SoundExchange royalties have become a critical part of today’s digital music economy, and Michael Huppe, President and CEO of SoundExchange, joins Innovating Music to explain why. From his roots as an amateur musician and intellectual property attorney to leading one...
Dave Ratner: The World of a Creative Lawyer
Dave Ratner moved from skiing to managing bands into law, and now works with creative companies out of Boulder, CO to understand how to maneuver so many different new opportunities in music. He talks of innovation in his own life as to how to add capabilities,...
Kevin Breuner on Thriving as an Artist in the Streaming Era
Kevin Breuner explores how artists can build lasting careers in an ever-changing music landscape. As SVP of Engagement and Education at CD Baby and a founding member of Grammy-nominated Smalltown Poets, Kevin has lived through the major-label era, the rise of indie...
AI Music Stem Separation with AudioShake’s Jessica Powell
Jessica Powell, co-founder and CEO of AudioShake, leads the conversation on AI music stem separation—a technology that splits audio into individual components for remixing, restoration, and licensing. In this episode, Powell reveals how AudioShake’s AI is helping...
Bonus Postcard Moments . . . with Gigi Johnson
We are in post-production on new episodes, so our host, Gigi Johnson, shared a story about "Postcards" and Postcard Moments that has come up in prior episodes and in many recent conversations. She shares how a single postcard created a pivot that changed her direction...
Bruno Guez on Simplifying Complexity for Indie Labels
Independent record label technology is at the heart of this conversation with Bruno Guez, founder of Revelator and longtime music industry innovator. From his early years as a UCLA ethnomusicology student and world music DJ to managing a boutique label and curating...
Dick Huey on Educated Luck and Building Digital Bridges
[Enjoy our podcast this week that we share with our sister Maremel Network podcast, Creative Innovators.] Dick Huey claims that his career jumps have been "educated luck." "Because they they are luck. And I'm, I'm I don't ever pretend that I have more information...

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Your Host: Dr. Gigi Johnson
Dr. Gigi Johnson designs futures programs that help creators and organizations navigate AI-driven change. Through Rethink Next, she builds experiences and labs that blend systems thinking, creative practice, and agentic AI. She ran the UCLA Center for Music Innovation and co-founded the global virtual conference series Amplify Music. Earlier, she produced media foresight programs while teaching MBAs and executives at UCLA Anderson, after financing media-sector M&A at Bank of America.
Episodes
Mike Butera of Artiphon – From Sound Studies to Smart Instruments
Mike Butera, founder and CEO of Artiphon, shares how he’s reimagining musical instruments for everyone—making music creation as approachable as taking a photo. In this episode of Innovating Music, we explore how sound studies, sociology, and product design converge in...
Music Discovery with Jason Kramer: Radio Curation, Emerging Artists, and Audience Connection
KCRW DJ and veteran music curator Jason Kramer shares his perspective on music discovery in a digital-first world. In this conversation, Kramer discusses the instinct and human connection that guide his curation, the role of radio in championing emerging artists, and...
Jordy Freed Sony Audio Strategy – From Jazz to Global Brand Leadership
Jordy Freed, Director and Head of Brand & Business Development at Sony Corporation of America, has navigated a career that defies traditional industry pathways. In this episode of Innovating Music, Freed shares how his early love for jazz and technology shaped his...
I fell in love with IP . . . with Mike Huppe, SoundExchange
SoundExchange royalties have become a critical part of today’s digital music economy, and Michael Huppe, President and CEO of SoundExchange, joins Innovating Music to explain why. From his roots as an amateur musician and intellectual property attorney to leading one...
Dave Ratner: The World of a Creative Lawyer
Dave Ratner moved from skiing to managing bands into law, and now works with creative companies out of Boulder, CO to understand how to maneuver so many different new opportunities in music. He talks of innovation in his own life as to how to add capabilities,...
Kevin Breuner on Thriving as an Artist in the Streaming Era
Kevin Breuner explores how artists can build lasting careers in an ever-changing music landscape. As SVP of Engagement and Education at CD Baby and a founding member of Grammy-nominated Smalltown Poets, Kevin has lived through the major-label era, the rise of indie...
AI Music Stem Separation with AudioShake’s Jessica Powell
Jessica Powell, co-founder and CEO of AudioShake, leads the conversation on AI music stem separation—a technology that splits audio into individual components for remixing, restoration, and licensing. In this episode, Powell reveals how AudioShake’s AI is helping...
Bonus Postcard Moments . . . with Gigi Johnson
We are in post-production on new episodes, so our host, Gigi Johnson, shared a story about "Postcards" and Postcard Moments that has come up in prior episodes and in many recent conversations. She shares how a single postcard created a pivot that changed her direction...
Bruno Guez on Simplifying Complexity for Indie Labels
Independent record label technology is at the heart of this conversation with Bruno Guez, founder of Revelator and longtime music industry innovator. From his early years as a UCLA ethnomusicology student and world music DJ to managing a boutique label and curating...