September 8, 2011 | Posted in: Blog

While listening to one of my Podcasts on Stitcher Radio This Week In Venture Capital I was very pleased to come across this interview with TopSpin Media founder Ian Rogers.

The music industry has been in such a prolonged conundrum that I’ve been seeking perspective lately from outside the music industry.  That’s how I came across This Week In Venture Capital. Host Mark Suster talks to various successful entrepreneurs about their business, how they started, and how they eventually became successful.

Mark talked with Ian Rogers who got his start working with The Beastie Boys during the late 90s. While managing an FAQ for a Beastie Boys newsgroup Mark got asked by the band’s management to do their official website. Eventually he ended up working with Yahoo! Music at a time when companies were first trying to innovate with music on the web.

Mark and Ian get into some nuts and bolts about how and where money is being made on YouTube, how publishing rights issues have killed many a music startup, and how email is still the most effective way to directly reach fans. They also talk about Ian’s venture TopSpin Media which sounds like a killer tool for musicians.

The interview can be found on their website, or I found it convenient to listen to it as a podcast, episode #57.