As streaming matures, the music business is heading into new territory. A new webinar from Digital Music News and Tipalti features a frank conversation on the current state of the music and entertainment world, a discussion about new models that are reshaping music monetization, and solving rights management at scale. The conversation also dips into streamlining music payouts through automation—while remaining compliant with KYC requirements.

Streaming remains the cornerstone of global music consumption, but its economics continue to be challenging for artists. This webinar spotlights how streaming reshapes creative strategies—where capturing listener attention within the first 30 seconds has become crucial. Audrey Marshall of Thematic notes that the platform era forces musicians to act like entrepreneurs, positioning streaming as a marketing tool rather than a reliable income source. Building a successful career as a streaming artist means building a personal brand and cultivating fan relationships that extend beyond play counts.

Webinar Participants

  • Audrey Marshall — Co-Founder & COO of Thematic
  • Paul Resnikoff — Publisher of Digital Music News
  • Teddy Ludmer — Senior Alliance Manager, Tipalti

This webinar contains critical insights into the diversification artists need to embrace to be successful in the modern music industry. Brand partnerships, exclusive content, and fan-driven communities are all proven strategies that have replaced touring as a dominant revenue source for most artists who aren’t sold-out stadium superstars.

Audrey emphasizes that authenticity in sponsorships and direct-to-fan sales can drive incredible growth for an artists’ bottom line, while Paul highlights how short-form video apps can expand reach beyond the pre-streaming audience despite their low payouts. Both underline that the true monetization strategy now hinges on relationships that create loyalty among fans, not fleeting engagement or passive listenership.

“I’ll relay some of the tips and tricks [DMN] has learned—and they definitely apply to artists as well,” Paul tells listeners. “One of the biggest questions to ask yourself is: Who controls your user base? Who owns that information? Take any digital service provider, like Spotify. Through Spotify for Artists, you’ll get data about who’s listening, where they’re from, and so on.”

“But how granular is that data going to be? If Audrey is my number one fan and she’s in Switzerland, can I really have that relationship with her? No, but hey—if I had a mailing list or Audrey came to my site, signed up to buy something exclusive, then suddenly we’ve got a direct relationship there through my platform—not Spotify.”

“It’s just worth thinking about these types of ideas when you have some downtime, because really down the line the audience glue is what matters,” Paul continues. “I’ve seen this over and over again. It’s just that audience glue and the ability to connect directly with the audience that is worth gold. That direct connection is what matters.”

The conversation also shifts to how complex global rights management remains a persistent hurdle for the music industry to overcome. Technological progress offers new hope, as Paul explains how automation and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions are doubling royalty matching speeds. Audrey also explains how Thematic has integrated Tipalti to streamline their payout process—with both Paul and Audrey stressing that automation only succeeds when grounded in accurate, transparent data.

“I think a lot of times people are used to doing things the way they always have been done, whether that be feeling manual procedures are safer, or just having it down to a process in which they’re comfortable,” shares Teddy concerning how automation can create more efficient workflows. “But I think challenging that idea and having conversations like these gets people to think, ‘oh maybe I could do this more efficiently’ or ‘what if I got my time back?’ or ‘what if these people got paid quicker?’”

Meanwhile, investment and technological innovation are music’s next frontier to be solved. Paul reveals that more than $4 billion was invested in music startups during Q2 2025 alone, much of that investment targeting music intellectual property (IP). Audrey also mentions how Taylor Swift’s re-recording of her masters (and subsequent re-acquisition of the originals) points to a shift toward seeing IP as a long-term equity. Both predict that AI will support the business and production side of the industry rather than replacing human artistry.

This webinar stresses that education and partnership transparency are essential for artist success in this complex and evolving ecosystem. Audrey urges artists to learn industry mechanics and find partners who offer clarity and advocacy to navigate these complexities. Meanwhile, Paul highlights just how long many artists like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter had their noses to the grind stone before their big breakthroughs happened. He stresses that early education can help artists focus on creativity once that traction builds.

Want to understand the changing flow of money in music and the technologies and partnerships that are driving the industry to a fairer and more efficient royalty distribution future? Then tune-in to understand just how much the A&R business has changed as streaming matured—with insights into music’s next frontiers.