
The Music Industry Isn't Broken! “People Are Making More Money Than Ever!”
Matt McNeal is an acclaimed music industry executive and manager. In 2009, he became the youngest executive hired by Universal Music Publishing Group, where he worked on catalogs for 50 Cent, Ashanti, and Jim Jones and later signed talent including Big Sean, Cardiak, and AraabMuzik. He then became Head of A&R at Dreamville Records, working on projects by J. Cole, Ari Lennox, Cozz, and EarthGang, before serving as VP of A&R at Warner Records. Today, Matt is the founder and president of Money Makin' Management, representing award-winning producers and songwriters with placements including Eminem, Rihanna, 2 Chainz, H.E.R., Trippie Redd, and more. TIMESTAMP: [00:01:15] Dropping out of school to work in music. [00:03:52] Working at Will Smith's recording studio. [00:06:11] Getting hired by Universal Music Group. [00:07:05] Lessons learned from working in music. [00:09:40] What is a manager and a publisher. [00:11:56] Music publisher vs record label. [00:14:46] Making money in music publishing. [00:15:18] Money Makin' Management earnings. [00:16:42] Why producers sign publishing deals. [00:18:44] The two sides of publishing. [00:19:47] Music streaming payouts. [00:21:30] Producer deal structures. [00:22:44] Benefits of signing a publishing deal. [00:25:18] Advice for aspiring producers. [00:27:38] Money Makin' Management clients. [00:27:56] Biggest publishing deal. [00:29:04] The richest creatives in the music industry. [00:30:13] Surprising ways to make money in music. [00:31:41] Coming up with J. Cole. [00:33:14] Realizing J. Cole would be a star. [00:34:29] Becoming an A&R at Dreamville Records. [00:36:35] What is an A&R. [00:38:37] Having good taste. [00:41:03] Recognizing popularity bias. [00:42:28] Spotting talent early. [00:44:03] Dream artists to A&R for. [00:45:22] Working with PLUSS. [00:49:35] Virality of the Dreamville writing camps. [00:52:18] The outcome of writing camps. [00:53:21] Behind the scenes of making music. [00:55:32] Discovering Cozz. [00:58:36] Signing Cozz to Dreamville. [01:00:15] Growing with Cozz. [01:01:01] Most lucrative career moments. [01:02:40] Advice for getting discovered. [01:05:12] Discovering Jaymin. [01:06:30] Is the music industry broken. [01:09:41] Today's artists vs artists of the past. [01:12:39] New artist strategies. [01:13:40] Advice for aspiring artists. [01:15:02] Mindset of an aspiring artist. [01:16:48] What creatives waste the most time on. [01:17:52] Misconceptions of the music industry. [01:18:29] Unexpected writing credits. [01:19:25] How to get a career in music. [01:21:18] How to not become a music industry villain. [01:24:49] Drake vs UMG lawsuit. [01:28:53] Using AI in music. [01:33:52] Future goals. MONEY TALKS with Jesse SUBSCRIBE! https://youtube.com/@moneytalkswithjesse Stream MONEY TALKS: https://hoo.be/moneytalks Follow MONEY TALKS: https://www.instagram.com/moneytalks/ https://www.tiktok.com/@MONEYTALKSwithJesse https://x.com/MONEYTALKSwithJ Follow Jesse: https://www.instagram.com/frontpage https://x.com/frontpage__ Follow Guest: https://www.instagram.com/moneymakinmatt/










