Billboard On The Record How Mark Cuban Sees The Music Business — Live at SXSW
12 snips
Mar 18, 2026 
Mark Cuban, entrepreneur and investor behind Broadcast.com and the Dallas Mavericks, shares an investor’s view of today’s music world. He talks about music as an asset class and why catalogs attract buyers. He explores AI’s role in streaming and marketing. He urges artists to think like entrepreneurs and predicts live shows and new platforms will reshape how music breaks through.
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Catalogs Get Bought As Predictable Assets
- Investment firms buying catalogs treat music as a cash-generating asset, not art, valuing predictable licensing revenue like real estate.
- Cuban compares catalog deals to owning an apartment building with steady annual increases.
AI Adoption Will Decide The Next Platform Shift
- Acceptance of AI-generated music by listeners will determine whether a new distribution paradigm emerges beyond current streaming players.
- Cuban notes personalized AI-created tracks could replace third-party platforms if consumers treat AI music as equivalent to human-made songs.
Treat Your Music Career Like A Business
- Artists must act as entrepreneurs: learn marketing, leverage tools, and make strategic decisions rather than expect someone else to manage everything.
- Cuban advises new artists to use AI agents to draft outreach and build fan infrastructure themselves.