Chapter 5 Music

One of the things I’ve come to value most over the years has very little to do with music itself. It’s learning to read the room. Recently Chapter 5 Music had the opportunity to support the team at WINK on a project around Atlanta, one of the host cities for the FIFA World Cup 2026. They were looking for a fresh source of music for the content on the city’s official social channels. At first glance, that sounds like a search for great tracks. It wasn’t. The real challenge was understanding the audience, the energy of the content and the feeling the music needed to leave behind. Once that became clear, finding the right music happened surprisingly quickly. Looking back, I’ve realised this has become one of the most valuable parts of my work. Whether it’s helping shape an artist’s direction, developing an A&R strategy, advising on music rights or finding the right soundtrack for a campaign, it always starts in the same place. Reading the room. A big thank you to the entire Wink team for the trust, the openness and the speed at which we were able to make this happen. #MusicIndustry #StrategicAandR #CreativeStrategy #ArtistDevelopment #MusicSupervision

Last October, during ADE, I sat down with Julian Willner for the very first episode of his new series, Built in 30 powered by Lovable. The interview has finally gone live (link in comments) ! At the time, I was leading acquisitions at BEAT Music Fund and brought a challenge that many people outside our industry never see: how do you review thousands of music rights, contracts and financial documents without spending weeks buried in PDFs? What fascinated me wasn't only the solution Julian and his team built in 30 minutes. It was the way they approached the problem. Throughout my career I've always been curious about the people building the tools behind the scenes. The founders, engineers and entrepreneurs who look at an industry and ask, "Why does it still work this way?" Music will always be driven by creativity, but I'm convinced the next generation of our industry will also be shaped by the technology supporting it. Not to replace artists, A&R or human judgement, but to remove friction, uncover opportunities and leave more room for the things people still do best: taste, relationships and instinct. Over the past year I've had the opportunity to meet founders building some incredible products for music. Some are already changing the way we work. Others are still operating quietly behind the scenes, but I believe they'll have just as much impact. That's also one of the directions I'm excited to explore through Chapter 5 Music : creating more opportunities for creative minds and technology builders to sit around the same table, solve real industry challenges and shape what comes next. Curious... what music tool has genuinely changed the way you work? #MusicIndustry #MusicTech #Innovation #MusicRights #AandR #ArtistDevelopment