We've called SK Sharma an 'AI expert' in the headline above, but it hardly does him justice.
We could have just as easily called him an expert on theoretical chemical physics, marketing analytics, computational biophysics, or antimicrobial therapeutics.
Granted, 'AI expert' was snappier.
In his 20s, Sharma graduated with a Ph.D in Chemical Physics and Biophysical Chemistry from Caltech.
He went on to create medical pharmaceuticals, before turning his hand to analyzing markets for the likes of Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers.
Along the way, he began managing investments – using data science to help guide his clients' money.
Amongst his early bets? Tesla, owned by that shrinking violet, Elon Musk.
From there, Sharma went on an impressive run as an entrepreneur: To date, he has either been a co-founder or a Partner / equity owner in four startups, in multiple fields, that have each exited for over $100 million.
And then, in 2017, he took a sharp turn into the music business – joining Ingrooves Music Group, the global distribution and services provider for indie artists and labels.
Ingrooves first successfully patented tech underpinning its 'Smart Audience' marketing platform in 2020.
The other week, it announced that it had won its second US patent for further developments on this tech – developments, the company claims, that now means Smart Audience drives streams for artists that amount to more than double the plays they would have received via traditional digital marketing methods.
In this latest MBW Podcast (supported by Voly Music), SK Sharma discusses Ingrooves' strategy, the music business's relationship with technology – and why, in his view, the "defining characteristic of success" for any new-fangled inventions in music (see: metaverse, NFTs etc.) is "going to be separating the bulls**t from the facts..."
Music Business Worldwide's Podcasts are supported by Voly Entertainment (previously known as Voly Music).