This week, Dmitri chats with Russell Wedelich, the President and CTO of Eventide Audio. Eventide has been shaping Eventide has been shaping recorded music since 1971, and Russell has used his background in both electrical engineering and musical engineering to help create products like the Space Stomp box, H9000, Physion, and Temperance reverb just to name a few.

They talk about Eventide's history and philosophy of creating audio tools, re-releasing legacy software, and why Russell believes fear and creativity are opposite's when it comes to AI's impact on music. They also talk about NAMM and why it is still worth going in 2026 (if you're going this week, make sure to check us out at Booth 10607 in Hall A.

The news

• Spotify hikes price for Premium subscribers in the US, other markets

• Music streaming platforms now host quarter of a BILLION tracks. Where does it end?

• Matthew McConaughey tackles deepfakes with trademark filings

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

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Episode 400! This week, we thought we'd do something a little different and talk about trade shows and whether or not they're still worth it in 2026.

Fresh from CES 2026, Dmitri shares why trade shows remain valuable for business development and lead generation in the music tech industry. He also discusses innovations at CES from companies like Crosley, Sleevenote, Vrch, and Vobble, along with what the team is looking forward to at NAMM next week.

Whether you're considering NAMM, SXSW, or the Music Tectonics Conference in October for your 2026 strategy, this episode makes the case for why IRL experiences still drive real business results in an increasingly digital world.

The news

• Spotify expands messaging feature with live friend activity and 'Request to Jam'

• Spotify Is Now Sunsetting the 'Basic' Music-Only Subscription Tier — And Further Reducing Songwriter Royalties In the Process

• UMG's latest major AI partnership arrives via tech giant NVIDIA, with promise of 'antidote to generic AI slop'

• Report: 56.9% of new independent songs in China are AI-generated

• Musician Sues Stability AI for Training Despite Opt-Out Requests

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

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This week, we're kicking off 2026 with our opening keynote from last year's Music Tectonics conference: "Optimization is Not Enough: Are You Ready for Streaming's Reckoning?"

In this keynote, Tatiana Cirisano from MIDiA Research joins Dmitri to ask a provocative question: Is the music industry so focused on optimizing streaming revenue that it's missing what comes next?

Tatiana argues that streaming has removed so much friction from music that it's accidentally removed fans' emotional connection (especially for Gen Z and Gen Alpha), and that music's real competitor isn't a new format but the attention economy (social video, gaming, etc).

We explore what the industry can learn from gaming's "productized friction," why Asian streaming services built around fandom might show the way forward, and whether platforms should actually make the experience harder, not easier. We also tackle audience questions about user-centric payment models, AI-generated music, and whether scarcity could return to digital music.

If you've wondered whether streaming is coasting on past success, this conversation will challenge how you think about music's future.

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

Get Dmitri's Rock Paper Scanner newsletter.