By Dana Sedgwick, @danasedgwick
As part of our continuing coverage of Disrupt NY, I headed over to the HQ yesterday to catch TechCrunch’s Josh Constine in conversation with Troy Carter, CEO & founder of Atom Factory and co-founder of Backplane.
In general, I was disappointed by TechCrunch’s line of questioning that trended towards a mistrust of the convergence of technology and music – that somehow these two industries were bound to always be at odds.
The opening question was very telling, “Has tech screwed the music industry?”
But Carter’s response was genuinely hopeful rather than apocalyptic, citing that technology has always driven music sales (the creation of the CD anyone?), and that although recent innovation has forced change within the industry, technology will eventually help it scale.
Later in the conversation, he also recognized the music industry’s molasses-like adaption to the changing landscape, calling in particular for a new generation of music publishers who can see the value in lowering the barriers for young tech companies to obtain and license music.
When asked where the holes are in the music tech space, Carter mentioned the continuing battle for in-car entertainment, no doubt a space we’ll continue to watch evolve as terrestrial radio struggles and satellite radio competes with internet music subscription services.
He also pointed out the need for better solutions in tour routing and coordination.
“It’s a waste the way we route tours now… It’s not based off of real data, for the most part its just guesswork. We need a better system and cleaner data to really understand how to maximize revenue.”
But for me, the biggest takeaways were found in how Carter discussed his personal investments (Spotify, DropBox, Uber), and the areas he’s looking to invest in next which include health and education.
Carter described his investment philosophy as mirroring the methods he uses to find excellent artists.
“We look for dynamic founders… And we treat the founders the same way we treat artists. Most of the guys who come to us have come through trusted filters… whether it’s Menlo, Google Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, we invest alongside of some smart guys. And in the music industry I stay close to people with really good ears. It’s the same filter, same process.”
Also interesting was Carters’s opinion on celebrity investment, which he seemed hesitant to give despite Constine’s insistance that earlier he’d called it “just a fad.”
Carter has worked closely with Ashton Kutcher and Will.i.am, describing them both as some of “the smartest guys I’ve ever met with a clear understanding of product.”
But in general, he preached not to “use celebrity for the sake of celebrity.”
“Celebrities can’t add rocket fuel to a bad product… but when you have a great product and you marry that to a celebrity fan base where the fans get value and the celebrity gets value, and they’re incentivised by investment or getting value share, then that’s the perfect marriage.”
Troy carter is the CEO and Founder of Atom Factory and is a past FlashFWD SoundWAV Honoree (2011).
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