#479 Rewriting the Music Playbook: Jeremy Sirota on Innovation, AI, and Artist Empowerment

The CTO Show with Mehmet Gonullu

In this episode of The CTO Show with Mehmet, we dive into the transformation of the global music industry with Jeremy Sirota, CEO of Merlin, the world’s leading digital licensing partner for independent music labels. Jeremy unpacks how Merlin is leveling the playing field for indie artists, leveraging tech and AI to streamline music licensing, and helping startups access curated music legally and efficiently.

Whether you’re a tech founder, investor, or platform builder, this conversation offers a rare lens into licensing, innovation in legacy industries, and the cultural implications of AI in creative ecosystems.

🧠 What You’ll Learn

• How Merlin is redefining music licensing through in-house platforms and normalized APIs

• Why independent music matters in an AI-driven world

• How Merlin’s “Connect” initiative bridges startups and music licensing

• What founders should know when building tech for creators

• AI in music: risk, regulation, and opportunity

• Pattern recognition and leadership lessons for startup operators

⸻

✨ Key Takeaways

• Intentional serendipity: Jeremy’s nonlinear career from law to tech to music

• “The fourth major”: Merlin’s global reach empowering indie labels

• Music licensing gap: Why startups don’t know who to talk to—and how Merlin solves it

• AI & copyright: The global debate on generative music models

• Culture meets tech: Pattern recognition > prediction in fast-moving industries

• Innovation from constraints: Bad idea sessions and reverse engineering success

👤 About the Guest

Jeremy Sirota is CEO of Merlin, the independent’s digital music licensing partner. Merlin is a global leader for independent labels and distributors around the world, representing 15% of the global market share. Merlin helps its members to own their independence by striking premium music deals with services like Apple, Canva, Snap, Spotify, Twitch, and YouTube. Sirota’s role at Merlin weaves together his lifelong passions for music and technology. He started his career as a technology lawyer at Morrison & Forster, with a focus on copyright law. He went on to hold senior positions at Warner Music Group, culminating as Head of Business & Legal Affairs for WEA and ADA. Prior to Merlin, he was an early hire on the Facebook music team to launch music experiences across Facebook and Instagram.

https://merlinnetwork.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremysirota/

Episode Highlights & Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction and Jeremy’s unique background

03:30 – What Merlin is and why it matters for independent artists

08:15 – The startup licensing problem: why Connect was created

13:00 – Building innovation inside a legacy industry

18:20 – API pull vs. push: simplifying music access for developers

21:00 – Music in Reels, TikToks, and social platforms: legal challenges

25:00 – Can AI-generated music be copyrighted?

30:00 – Artist anxiety vs. excitement about AI

36:00 – Startup advice: intuition, testing, and leadership culture