My guest on this episode is Paul Sampson, who’s the founder and CEO of the music licensing service for creators, Lickd.



Paul started in the entertainment business working for a small television production company, where he encountered difficulties licensing music multiple times, which made him want to understand the nuances and problems of music licensing that needed solving. That led to a job with the stock music company Extreme Music, where he rose through the ranks to become head of its U.S. operation. 



After a stint focusing more on commercial music and unsigned independent acts, Paul launched Lickd to help YouTube and Instagram creators legally license music for their videos.



Lickd currently works with over 10,000 labels and publishers to help pre-clear their music for social platforms, games, and even the various metaverses. It’s the only licensing platform in the world where you can get over 1 million chart tracks for your videos without fear of copyright claims.



During the interview we talked about the problem that creators can have with YouTube’s Content ID and music licenses, the nuances of music in the metaverse, how AI will affect production music, and much more.



I spoke with Paul via Zoom from his office in London.



On the intro I’ll take a look at Spotify DIY successes shrink, and famous guitar collectible prices soar.