NAMM 2026, pt 1: AI's Inflection Point (ft LANDR and Yamaha)

For the next two weeks we'll be talking about all things NAMM and getting into some of the exciting innovations we spotted on the show floor, along with some trends that we noticed this year, starting with AI's inflection point in the music industry.

Last year, the conversation around AI was tense with creators expressing fear over being replaced by AI. This year, we saw more AI tools designed to support creators, and in some case, become integrated directly into software and hardware that musicians already know and use.In this episode, you'll hear two conversations from NAMM that capture this shift.

Daniel Roland from LANDR discusses how creator-first AI tools are evolving, LANDR's new Layers feature that adds real musician performances through AI, and why the technology is becoming less about replacement and more about expanding creative possibility. (Recorded in the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus).

Jun Usui from Yamaha demos a prototype that integrates Boomy's AI sample generation directly into Yamaha's Seqtrak hardware, showing a glimpse into a future where AI lives in your instruments, not just the cloud.

The news

• US TikTok App Uninstalls Jump 150% Following Transfer to US Ownership

• TikTok users in the US can't write 'Epstein' or see anti-Trump videos

• Social network UpScrolled sees surge in downloads following TikTok's US takeover | TechCrunch

• Report: music is now a third of all viewing time on YouTube

• Stationhead and Mellomanic Merge, UMG Invests In 'Ultimate' Direct-to-Fan Platform

• Native Instruments GmbH is in preliminary insolvency - CDM Create Digital Music

The Music Tectonics podcast goes beneath the surface of the music industry to explore how technology is changing the way business gets done. Visit musictectonics.com to find shownotes and a transcript for this episode, and find us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Let us know what you think!

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