GAMMA.'S JACKSON, USHER TALK AI, STREAMING AT MILKEN GLOBAL
Larry Jackson and USHER teamed yesterday (5/9) for a discussion that was part of the Milken Global Conference dubbed "Unleashing Creativity in the 21st Century: Tech’s Transformation of Modern Music and Media," during which the pair chatted about streaming, revenue and AI with moderator Lisa Ling.
With generative AI at the center of hot debates about artist rights, Jackson revealed how his company gamma. is using the technology to the betterment of artists. With the assistance of generative AI, premium-tier gamma. clients will now be able to receive royalty payments once a week—a far cry from the bi-annual reports artists are used to receiving from major labels.
"This is not just some pipe dream, hypothetical, probable thing," Jackson said. "We actually have it in beta right now."
Noting that the Ron Laffitte-managed USHER is the only independent artist to play the Super Bowl as well as the only one to go #1 at three formats in recent months, Jackson credited a partnership with Kim Kardashian's clothing line Skims for significantly moving the needle when the artist's latest album, Coming Home, was released by gamma. in February. SKIMS shoppers could purchase Coming Home at checkout, in effect turning the site "into iTunes," said Jackson, continuing, "That's how he was able to achieve not just on streaming but in a more enterprising way of, how can I reach my fans in different venues and different places?"
"There are so many other opportunities for these young entrepreneurs," USHER said, contrasting this to the early stage of his career, when he was firmly entrenched in the major-label system. "They're not just artists; they know who they are and they know who their consumer is, so having that ability to speak directly to consumers is a great benefit."
Before the Super Bowl, Jackson and gamma. raised more than $100 million from investors led by the New York investment group Alpha Wave Global.
Gamma.'s roster also includes Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Sexyy Red.
