Mark Cuban on Why Music Is The Worst Industry Ever (And How Artists Can Still Win) | Billboard On The Record

Mark Cuban joined Billboard On The Record for the first-ever live taping of the podcast at SXSW to share his take on the music industry — and why breaking through as an artist has never been harder. Speaking from his perspective as an investor, Cuban explains how the industry has shifted, with music now treated as an asset class and algorithms shaping what becomes a hit. He reflects on why Spotify succeeded, where new music tech could create opportunities and how fans might respond to AI-generated songs. Cuban also emphasizes the importance of artists thinking like entrepreneurs, leveraging the right tools and securing placement in legacy media. In the conversation, he highlights why music is “recession-proof” and what it really takes to succeed in today’s ever-changing music landscape.

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Kristin Robinson:

We all know Mark Cuban. The famous investor, known best perhaps because of his appearances on the hit TV show Shark Tank, has previously said in an interview that there’s a few sectors that he considers to be the death in investing. This includes restaurants, liquor brands, clothing lines and music. So of course, when I knew I was going to Cuban and my home state of Texas to film some live episodes of On The Record at South by Southwest, I knew I wanted to have Mark on to tell us why he said that, so on this episode of the show, here is an outside investor’s perspective on the challenges and opportunities in music investing. Hello, hello, hello. Look, I had to pick a Texas band because we’re in Texas today, y’all. Welcome to the first ever live taping of On The Record, which is Billboard’s New Music Business Podcast. We’re here with the one and only Mark Cuban. Make some noise. Oh my gosh, Mark, thank you so much for coming. Thanks for coming.

Mark Cuban:

Thanks for having me, Kristin.

Okay, so I wanted to have you here today because you’re outside of the music business. Actually, everyone that I’ve had on the podcast so far are people within the music industry talking about how great it is and how perfect everything is going, but you have an outside perspective, and you’ve said a few times before that you think that music investing is really tough.

Yeah, I think it’s the worst industry ever. No, it’s probably tied with clothing, branded clothing, you know how everybody always comes out, they have the slogan like “IBYU” or, you know, and they make it, yeah, that’s the worst, and music is right behind it.

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