Leveling Up’s 2023 Year In Review
Most Read Articles, My 2023 Music Playlist, and Content Worth Consuming
If you’re not already a subscriber to Leveling Up and want to join other curious music industry professionals, creators, investors, and entrepreneurs, enter your email below and you won’t miss out on future newsletters:
GM readers 👋,
Happy New Year!
This is the second year since I committed to writing more often and 2023 was another big year for Leveling Up. Our readership grew 344% this year (albeit off a low base!). I’m extremely grateful that each of you spends a bit of your valuable time with my thoughts on various topics. The results from writing this newsletter continue to surprise me. I get to learn a ton through the writing process, meet a bunch of super talented people (you!), and in certain cases get invited to help with exciting, unexpected projects. Simply put, the newsletter continues to be a serendipity machine.
I intend to continue writing regularly in 2024, so hopefully Leveling Up continues to be interesting and/or entertaining to you. To that end, we have a couple exciting newsletter collaborations in the pipeline, which should result in some amazing new content next year.
For our year-end piece, we’ll be keeping it light relative to our usual newsletters. If you’re newer to Leveling Up, you can think of this edition as our version of the Dundies (if you’re not already a fan of The Office, click this link for a glimpse at what I’m referring to).
This year-end review will mix a few topics.
I’ll cover 2023’s top 5 most read articles. I’m basing the results off of Substack’s “views” metric on each post.
I’ll highlight the songs that stuck with me this year. These are some of the tracks I’ve listened to over and over again while writing, traveling, learning, reflecting, etc.
I’ll share some of the most interesting content I’ve consumed over the past month or two.
One final ask before diving into this month’s piece. In an effort to improve Leveling Up, I’d be grateful if you could fill out this survey (linked here) and let me know your feedback. It will help me get a better sense of what you’re most interested in learning about.
Finally, a huge thank you to my wife Hannah and my business partner Adam for editing and providing invaluable feedback on each article. Leveling Up wouldn’t exist without their help.
Now, let’s get after it!
Jimmy
2023 Most Read Articles
Here are Leveling Up’s most read articles this year. If you’re new to the newsletter, I hope you’ll find them interesting.
Has Hipgnosis Hit The Bottom? (Link)
The Contrarian: Understanding MUSIC’s $200M Raise (Link)
beatBread’s Moneyball Approach to Funding Musicians (Link)
Universal’s Push for Higher Streaming Payouts (Link)
A New Tune: Looking at the Future of BMI (Link)
My 2023 Year-End Playlist
Here are some of the songs that stayed with me throughout the year. You can click this link to listen. I hope you enjoy it! And yes, I included the entire Burna Boy NPR Tiny Desk concert because it is incredible!
📚 Music Business, Tech, and Investing Content Worth Consuming
Here is some of the best content that I consumed over the past month or so –
44 memorable Charlie Munger Quotes about life and markets (Yahoo: link)
Acquired’s Interview with Charlie Munger (Acquired: link)
Two Tier Licensing is about to become a reality (MIDIA: link)
The Strategic Reasons HYBE’s Chairman Wants to Retire in 10 years (MBW: link)
Spotify Added 6M Premium Subscribers in Q3 – and Became Profitable (MBW: link)
How Artist Friendly Are Streaming Platforms? (Water & Music: link)
The Trapital 2023 Report (Trapital: link)
The Future of Music: How Generative AI is Transforming the Music Industry (a16z: link)
Taylor Swift Will Earn $100M from Spotify This Year (Billboard: link)
🤝 Want to Work Together? Get in touch!
Since 2017, Alderbrook has consulted with 50+ companies across various industries and stages. This includes working with record labels, music publishers, music technology companies, and investors on a wide-range of projects.
Our experienced group of consultants provide services across several categories, including: a) market research; b) corporate strategy; c) investment and M&A due diligence; d) capital raising support; and e) financial planning & analysis. Need help on a project? Reach out via the link below!
In addition to the above consulting services, we also have a growing venture portfolio of 20+ early-stage investments. Our primary focus is backing founders who we believe in and whose vision we are aligned with. While we are industry agnostic, our preferred sectors are media and government technology.
Finally, reach out to us about opportunities to sponsor Leveling Up’s newsletter. Our readership includes music technology entrepreneurs, executives at major labels, Grammy award-winning creators, investors and bankers at large financial institutions, and more. Share what you’re building with them!
To get in touch, you can either reply directly to this email or click the link below to fill out our contact form. We’ll be back in touch soon!
📭 Share Leveling Up with a friend!
If you enjoy Leveling Up, please consider sharing it with friends and colleagues (link to share)!