Octave Media’s Matt Jacoby
The music industry of 2026 is exploding everywhere all-at-once, with catalog investments, creative outputs, and AI-generated mayhem part of a pedal-to-the-metal growth expansion. On the ground, that means more companies are battling an avalanche of data overload and disconnected processes, though systems and experts are quickly adapting and figuring out solutions.
That includes Octave Media founder Matt Jacoby, who assured Digital Music News there’s light at the end of the tunnel for companies willing to overhaul their processes and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) systems. Jacoby, a professional drummer and music event producer for decades, is no stranger to complex music industry problems. But what’s the path towards achieving ‘data nirvana,’ as Jacoby calls it?
The answer to that question could start to differentiate winners and losers across a number of exploding industry sub-categories in the coming years, including distributors, DSPs, ticketing platforms, ISP/catalog mega-owners, DAWs, publishers, and labels.
And there are huge opportunities for those who can manage them.
On the catalog front, acquisitions and investments are multiplying into the mega-billions annually, while DSPs and distributors are managing an onslaught of both human and AI-generated uploads. There’s also more music consumption than ever across streaming, live concerts, and video content, in more countries than ever before. Just recently, Octave Media joined forces with DMN to reach a growing number of companies that simply need to organize their business flows better.
So what’s the solution for managing all that data?
After working hands-on with a range of music companies struggling to manage pipelines, track revenue, and forecast growth, Jacoby began noticing the same patterns and questions emerging. Issues surrounding data-management staffing, systems (or lack thereof), workflows, and staff buy-in are recurring themes but easily solvable.
In one simple scenario, the ‘mess’ takes the form of creator info in one spreadsheet and royalty calculations in another, with pipeline visibility nowhere to be found.
“It isn’t just messy folders; it’s gut-instinct decisions made in the dark, missed revenue opportunities, and reputation damage from payout errors,” Jacoby relayed. “I’ve seen founders and CEOs trapped in day-to-day data firefighting instead of scaling the platforms they envisioned.”
But for Jacoby, the most exciting part isn’t about what stops happening when systems are successfully transformed and overhauled. It’s what suddenly starts occurring when data, teams, and platforms are properly harmonized and elegantly interlinked.
“It’s pure freedom and unleashed growth,” Jacoby explained. “Envision a newfound tier of confidence and control – that’s what we’re going for here.”
Jacoby noted that ‘data messes’ can often be split into two large categories.
Jacoby, a certified HubSpot expert and CRM consultant with thirteen years of experience, notes that companies typically fall into one of two dysfunctional buckets: one without a CRM, and another with a CRM that he calls ‘The Fancy Spreadsheet’.
In the ‘No CRM’ bucket, teams typically rely on tools such as Gmail, calendar reminders, disparate spreadsheets, and perhaps a half-baked Salesforce setup. Because data isn’t centralized, top-level assessments and forecasting become impossible.
Stepping up to the “Fancy Spreadsheet,” Jacoby often encounters companies that pay for a CRM but haven’t configured workflows properly, established broad-scale buy-in, or established processes. On the ground, teams work in silos, and leaders still spend hours manually pulling reports from multiple sources.
Unfortunately, neither track results in that ‘data nirvana,’ or anything close to a happy data management place.
The Octave Media Self-Assessment: How does your company rank?
To help companies diagnose their health, Jacoby took things further and developed a quick Self-Audit Checklist. Whether you have a developed system or are still using “spreadsheet magic,” a number of core questions come up:
Data Ownership: Is there a single person accountable for data quality, or do new hires just create their own systems?
System Integration: Does your customer data sync with your product analytics, or do you manually export, import, and sync data?
Industry Workflows: For those engaging and pitching new partners, can you easily segment contacts by role (e.g., artist, label, or publisher), and does your lead-scoring account for industry signals like catalog size?
User Adoption and Buy-In: Does your sales team track deals in the CRM, or is the system technically set up but mostly avoided by the staff?
(For those interested in looking in the mirror, Octave’s self-assessment can be found here. Jacoby assesses outcomes as ‘low risk’ (0-5 issues identified), ‘medium risk’ (6-12 issues), or ‘high risk’ for those ticking enough pressing issues.)
But do you really need a full-blown CRM to solve data issues?
When it comes to fixing the mess, Jacoby says his guidance is actually CRM-agnostic. That might sound surprising coming from a certified HubSpot consultant, though Jacoby emphasizes that the platform is merely a vehicle for the data.
His key message: “The platform decision comes last, not first,” Jacoby shared.
But what are some immediate fixes?
For those who want to roll up their sleeves immediately, Jacoby offered a few quick steps to improve data management.
Map the Flow: Conduct a comprehensive workflow and data audit to map how data flows from (for example) creator onboarding to payout.
Standardize Early: In an outreach environment, define what a “lead” or “deal” looks like specifically for music tech—generic B2B templates rarely work.
Audit Responsibilities: Ensure a single person or team is accountable for data quality to avoid duplicate records and conflicts.
And for those whose honest self-assessments put them in the “Medium” or “High” risk category, Matt says it’s time to discuss your specific data architecture.
You can find him at matt@octave.media; for more info check out Octave Media’s website.
