LA's Music Tectonics Conference Launches Seismic Shifts Trading Cards

Los Angeles' new annual music technology conference, Music Tectonics, is launching a set of thought-provoking "Seismic Shifts" trading cards. Each unique card includes an original illustration and colorful design alongside a transformative theme and short explanation.

The trading cards are the brainchild of Dmitri Vietze, the CEO of music tech PR firm rock paper scissors, inc., who has been in the music industry since way before Napster. Vietze launched the first-ever Music Tectonics Conference, taking place in L.A. October 28-29, 2019 and hosts the weekly Music Tectonics podcast which explores the seismic shifts changing the music industry as a result of technology and innovation.

"The changes sweeping music in particular and digital media in general can feel utterly disorienting," Vietze reflects. "We distilled the dynamics at work into this fun visual format that we think will guide more productive and creative conversations about the future of music and tech."

Music Tectonics began releasing a new card every day on their website at www.musictectonics.com/seismicshifts, and on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. The print run of 500 trading card sets will only be available to attendees of the late October conference.

Examples of the cards include:

Music is Like Fire. You used to find music via radio, record store, or jukebox. Now you find music everywhere: E-sports, Fitness, Senior Care, Furniture, Memes. Hello: UGC. Goodbye: Silos.

More Music Than Ever. There is substantially more music than ever. How do artists compete? How do they stand out? How do fans find what they like? How do they manage the deluge? There's magic sauce at the end of the rainbow.

The Push to Transparency is Irreversible. Data everywhere is a window that cannot be unseen. Black box thinking is on the way out. Data liquidity untangles rights disputes and grows revenue for all.

Music in Slices. Music has been sliced into smaller & smaller pieces. We went from albums to singles to samples to stems. . .from liner notes to lyric websites to bits of metadata. Annual checks became penny fractions.

The remaining cards cover these themes:

• Music is like Water
• Music is like Air
• The Gates are Broken
• Self-Driving Artists Change Everything
• Music Production is in the Hands of the Masses
• Music is More Global Than Ever
• No Single Path to Success
• Music Uses Outpace Systems
• Data Everywhere
• Music as an Experience
• Music is Competing with Everything
• No Single Path to Listening
• Creation and Engagement Intermingle
• Humpty Dumpty is together again

"Many people think we have reached a new stability in the music industry," says Vietze. "I'm going to share 18 seismic shifts that will make you think twice about that. These are the things that have led us to where we are today and will continue to turn the world of music upside down again."

The latest Music Tectonics podcast episode previews how these Seismic Shifts will shape the conference experience as well. "Music In Slices" explores how slicing music into its component parts leads to new ways of engaging listeners. What music fan hasn't dreamed of playing a solo with their favorite band, or immersing themselves in every detail of their favorite song? Leaders of three start-ups explain how their interactive music apps invite fans into the music in unique ways: Sarah Janiszewski (Jammer), Frank Østevold (oiid), and Dave Park (SongAI).

All these apps use the stems of a song-the individual guitar, bass, drums, and vocal tracks-to let users become co-creators, not just passive listeners. These new ideas were all developed with the support of Universal Music Group's global digital innovation program, so Bill Gagnon, SVP Business Development at UMG, chimes in to give a big picture view of the program and the thinking behind it. UMG is working closely with start-ups to help spawn innovation and bringing fans and artists closer, and the development of the interactive music market is just one of the spaces where new ideas are growing.

Get a first hand look at the interactive music frontier: play with all three apps at the Music Tectonics Conference in LA Oct. 28-29! UMG is creating a start-up playground in the exhibitor hall where you'll be able to try them out yourself.

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