Music Prediction Markets with Justin Longo
Have you ever thought about predicting music trends and earning income from them? Perhaps not, because this is still an emerging idea. But it’s a very interesting one, particularly for independent artists looking to diversify their income streams. In this episode of The David Andrew Wiebe Show, David catches up with Justin Longo of MarinNation in Hollywood, CA, while attending the Music Pro ’26 conference. Besides getting an update on Justin’s progress on his still-in-development skill-based music prediction market platform, the two also touch on how AI is changing the music industry landscape and strategies modern artists can adopt to ensure their human advantages are properly leveraged. In This Episode: - What Justin noticed about David after meeting him for the first time - How MariNation shifted from an investment platform to a skill-based music prediction platform (and what that means) - The real story behind Justin’s entrepreneurial and musical journey - How Justin suggests supporting yourself while growing your hustle - The secret formula David learned from Andrew Dubber - David’s framework for human-driven independent music success - Justin’s experiments with TikTok and what it has taught him about content volume - Why Justin believes people will never buy music again - What Steve Vai said about utilizing AI in music - How David views current news headlines concerning AI developments - The contentious ideas David thinks musicians need to start “shaking hands” with Key Resources: - MariNation: Justin’s music prediction platform - Kit: email marketing platform for creators David’s MRCT Framework for Human-Driven Independent Success The MRCT Framework lays out the advantages that humans have over AI. Now that AI can produce convincing-sounding pop music, which creates a new skill floor for musicians, musicians must emphasize human connection. This framework, of course, could work with the assistance of AI. But that part is key – with the assistance of. Use AI to enhance working processes and scale viable opportunities, not enhance mistakes and scale insanity. M – Message The core of your artistic identity. What do you stand for? What are you about? What’s your mission? These might not be easy questions to answer, but the sooner you can figure this out, the sooner you can organize your activity around a singular purpose. Your Message should drive your brand, your image, everything you do. It should inform your musical choices, lyrics, stage costumes, merchandise, and fan conversations. A great band without a message might make great music, but that’s not a differentiator or a competitive advantage. Plenty of artists make great music. What will attract people to you is a meaning they can rally behind. R – Relationship A fan base grows stronger through Relationship. People want to feel like they belong. They want to feel like they’re part of a movement. They want to feel good about themselves and to share that with like-minded others. You can offer this to your fans, particularly in the early going. You can learn everyone’s names, send them a text every week or two, maybe even organize a wings night now and then. Read How to Win Friends and Influence People while you’re at it. It will help! C – Community At some point, Relationship will become unscalable. It’s still a good idea to get to know your fans and stay connected to them, to the extent possible, but at some point, you’ll need to transition to building your Community. You can introduce new fans to old fans. Heck, you can make your old fans the leaders of the community. You can teach and instill in them in the values that built the culture. And you can start doing things that will scale for a long time to come – play birthday parties, organize album signings, do live streams. T – Taste-making You can introduce your fans to things you enjoy. They are bound to trust your recommendations, and assuming you share quality things, they will keep returning to you for more. This positions you as the go-to person for entertainment and fun. People will want to talk to you, just because you know about the coolest lounges, restaurants, bookstores, and so on. This will also lead to more gigs, because people will want to book you for their personal events. AI can only make suggestions. You can be a tastemaker! You’re Invited! If you want to keep up with podcast updates and support the show, please take a moment to subscribe. You will receive weekly emails notifying you of the latest. Read the full article
