Last Day for Early Birds:
Tuesday, August 11
Early Bird TICKETS On Sale Now
The 2026 Music Tectonics Conference focuses on growing the total market for music.
Join us October 27-29, 2026 in Santa Monica, CA!
The music industry could be, should be bigger. Everyone from the largest companies in the business to creative new startups, from emerging artists to established execs, agrees that music punches above its weight when it comes to cultural impact. Music Tectonics brings the ecosystem together to translate that impact into revenue.
Music Tectonics is unlike any other conference in music and tech. Top industry movers and shakers mingle with rising innovators and thought leaders.
Get on our mailing list for updates on speakers, programming, and special events!
Announcements
Sneak Peek: Sessions and Speakers
Music technology has often been framed as disruptive, but the most innovative changes in music grow the market for everyone. 2026 Music Tectonics conference sessions are focused on real solutions to the central challenge facing music: growing revenue for all.
Sessions
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Grow the Artist, Grow the Market: The Tools Turning Independent Artists and Managers Into Industry Forces
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Context Without Compromise: The Music Executive's Guide to Safe and Effective AI Operations
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What if AI Grows the TAM? A New Licensing & Royalty Paradigm
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Working Capital for Working Artists: The Financial Intelligence Layer That Grows the Music Economy
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Rising Tide, Uneven Boats: Closing the Royalty Collection Gap
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Investor Confidential: Where the Money's Moving in Music Tech
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Making Music Make Sense on Roblox: 123 Million Daily Players and the Next Fan Culture Frontier
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Open Mic for the Innovators of Music Tech: The Pulse of Startups, Scale Ups, and More
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Music Is Worth More: Tech That Multiplies Revenue, Not Disrupts It
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Startup Hotbox: Labels React to Music Tech Startups
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Swimming with Narwhals: Music Tectonics Pitch Competition Final
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Fireside Chat with Merck Mercuriadis
Speakers
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Merck Mercuriadis, Hipgnosis Artist Partnerships
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Matt Adell, Musical AI
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Darryl Ballantyne, LyricFind
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Jason Feinberg, KOSIGN
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Bridget Ferris, ElevenLabs
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Andreea Gleeson, Andreea Gleeson Advisory
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Heather Johnson, Sub Pop Records
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Andrew Kahn, Yamaha Music Innovations Fund
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Spencer Klein, Morrison Foerster
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Paul McCabe, Roland
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Jessica Meehan, Roblox
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Rian Rochford, Loma Vista Recordings
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Ishan Sachdev, Deciens Capital
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Allen Schrott, Xperi
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Sydney Singh, A26 Ventures
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David Tauber, Creator Partners
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Guillaume Therien, Triptyq Capital
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Matthew Tilley, beatBread
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Dmitri Vietze, Rock Paper Scissors, Inc.
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Mike Walsh, Structure VC
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Vivian Wei, NetEase Cloud Music
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Jason Yeh, Patron Fund
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Sun-Ui Yum, MUSIC
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Sun Jen Yung, Jakota Capital
+ Many more to come!
Swimming with Narwhals Applications EXTENDED
Startup founders can apply for the pitch competition through August 11!
Music Tectonics and Yamaha Music Innovations Fund have joined forces to explan the 2026 Swimming with Narwhals Pitch Competition and open it up to more founders! Learn more and apply here.
Rising Tide: Growing Music, Growing Value
This year Music Tectonics is making a deliberate move.
We’ve evolved from being known as a music tech and startup conference to being the conference where the whole music industry comes to grow its market. The theme is: A Rising Tide: Growing Music, Growing Value. . .
Merck Mercuriadis Keynotes Music Tectonics 2026
Merck Mercuriadis knows all about growing the value of music. As founder and Executive Chairman at Hipgnosis Artist Partnerships, Merck sensed that a radically different approach to music catalogs could shake up the industry for the benefit of artists and songwriters and generate significant, predictable, and reliable revenue for institutional investors.
First Wave of Speakers
Early Adopting Partners
Are you ready to make a major impact in music tech? Help shape the conference experience with creative activations. Get involved now to have the best selection of benefits to meet your company's goals!
SEEN AT Music TEctonics
Conference Timeline
Aug 11 - EXTENDED: Pitch Competition Applications Close
Aug 11 - $449 Regular Price Tickets
Sep 23 - Online Preconference and Pitch Competition Semi-Final
Oct 12 - $549 Walkup Rate Tickets
October 27-29 — Music Tectonics Conference
Tue 10/27 — Santa Monica Pier Carousel
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Creator Fair
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Keynote
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Demos
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Opening Party
Wed 10/28 — Annenberg Beach House
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High-Energy Panels
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Exhibitors around the Pool
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Creative Activations
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Startup Pitch Competition Final Round
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Pool Party
Tue 10/29 — Annenberg Beach House
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Startup day
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Networking & Meetings
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Investor & Startup Bootcamp
HOTEL
The 2026 Conference takes place at eclectic venues by the beach in Santa Monica, California.
Our room block is located conveniently near conference venues, the beach, and downtown Santa Monica's dining and shopping district!
Shore Hotel
1515 Ocean Ave, Santa Monica, CA 90401
A limited number of discounted rooms remain- get yours by August 15!
Need more nights? Contact the hotel to request to extend the discount.
What Makes Music Tectonics Different
Music Tectonics was founded to explore the deep seismic shifts that keep the music industry unsettled. At the next annual conference in 2026, we'll delve into the consequences of these shifts and the new fault lines poised to change the industry yet again.
Music Tectonics unites music tech innovators across industry boundaries to share insights and get business done. The Music Tectonics team intentionally crafts experiences in unexpected beachside venues to foster openness to new ideas and new partnerships. The result is a conference and a community unlike any any other.
Music Tectonics is a community of innovators everywhere in the music ecosystem: startups, major labels, indie labels, AI pioneers, streaming services, distributors, social media platforms, investors, accelerators, legal experts, live event execs, gear makers, music software developers, consultants—in short, everyone who works where music and tech meet.
Meet Music Tectonics' Past Participants: Spotify, Bose, Pandora, YouTube, Google, TikTok, BeatSaber, Instagram, Facebook, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, BMG, Twitch, Reddit, TIDAL, Deezer, SoundCloud, Riot Games, Epic Games, Bandsintown, Raised In Space, Sony Ventures, Union Square Ventures, Plus Eight Equity Partners, Waverley Capital, Crush Ventures, Techstars Music, Roland, PioneerDJ, The MLC, TuneCore, Luminate, Rumblefish, Atlantic Records, Capitol Records, Concord Music, FUGA, 4AD, Secretly Canadian, Run the Jewels, Peloton, BandLab, BeatStars, Sonos, Seven20, Cameo, Patreon, AEG, Roblox, Audius, Pixelynx, Billboard, Forbes.
Who We Are
PR firm Rock Paper Scissors, Inc. explores the new terrain at the epicenter of music and technology through their PR and marketing services as well as the Music Tectonics Conference, podcast, online events, and in-person meetups.
Everything Music Tectonics does explores the seismic shifts that shake up music and technology the way the earth’s tectonic plates cause quakes and make mountains.