EMIC Founder Daniel Findikian on Bridging Creative, Commercial, and Tech Divides in Music

‘The future of the industry belongs to executives who can bridge the creative, commercial, and technological divides.’

May 28, 2026 By Murray Stassen

Daniel Findikian has spent two decades inside the music industry — and much of that time wondering where the next generation of global executives would come from.

He has held marketing, label, and digital strategy roles at Universal Music , Sony Music, and EMI, during the transition from physical to digital.

He says he left the corporate world with one key takeaway: the global music industry was expanding faster than the talent pipeline feeding it.

“We’ve moved from relatively local, relationship-driven ecosystems to a global, tech-driven market shaped by streaming, data, and new growth territories,” he tells MBW .

So in 2016, he founded EMIC (École de Management des Industries Créatives), a Paris-based school designed to train the next generation of executives for the creative industries (music, live, audiovisual & film) through practitioner-led teaching and direct industry access.

Now, a decade later, Findikian says he’s making a bigger bet. In September, EMIC will launch an English-language MSc in International Music Business in partnership with triple-accredited Rennes School of Business, a program its creators describe as the first of its kind in France. It is designed, Findikian says, to train executives for markets where the global industry is seeing significant growth, from LATAM to Asia, MENA, and sub-Saharan Africa.

The timing is not accidental. According to IFPI’s Global Music Report 2026 , Latin America was the fastest-growing recorded music region in the world in 2025, up 17.1% YoY , its 16th consecutive year of growth. Asia grew 10.9% YoY .

The MENA (Middle East & North Africa) and Sub-Saharan Africa regions each grew 15.2% YoY last year. Goldman Sachs projects that emerging markets will account for 75% of net subscriber additions by 2035.

Findikian argues that the industry’s existing education infrastructure isn’t keeping pace with that shift.

“A traditional US-focused curriculum will not teach a student how to navigate the complexities and nuances of copyright, AI, sync and brand partnership strategies, and audience building in emerging markets,” he tells MBW .

Many US and UK programs, he says, are structured around mature domestic markets, naturally funneling graduates back into those same systems.

Findikian explains that the MSc is built to point in the other direction, with a curriculum designed around the markets where the industry is expanding fastest, not the ones where it is most established.

He notes that the 200 hours of teaching are delivered entirely by working industry professionals rather than full-time academics. The academic semester is followed by a professional internship that students can complete anywhere in the world, aimed at bridging the gap between the classroom and local industry in their target market.

“Students learn from operational realities, not academic theory,” Findikian says. The teaching faculty of 11 France-based executives spans streaming, live, labels, publishing, and rights management.

They are supported by a strategic advisory board comprising Marie-Anne Robert , Managing Director of Sony Music Entertainment France; Corinne Sadki , International Development Director at Centre national de la musique; and Morvan Boury , Senior Vice President, Global Business Development & Digital Strategy, Sony Music Entertainment.

> “We’ve moved from relatively local, relationship-driven ecosystems to a global, tech-driven market shaped by streaming, data, and new growth territories.” Daniel Findikian

The program is led by Nicolas Renault , a former Director of Load and Distributed Labels at Sony Music and a Rennes School of Business alumnus.

The program’s patrons, Christian De Rosnay , manager of three-time Grammy-winning duo Justice , and Alexandra Pilz Hayot , founder and President of Savoir Faire, the Paris-based firm that manages Gesaffelstein , The Blaze, and Myd, were deliberately chosen for their track record in breaking artists globally.

Gesaffelstein won his first Grammy in February 2026, for Best Remixed Recording, for his remix of Lady Gaga’s Abracadabra . Justice’s most recent Grammy came in February 2025, for Neverender featuring Tame Impala.

“There isn’t a single blueprint behind those careers that we’re trying to replicate,” says Findikian. “But they are French global success stories, and since the program is based in France, we’re naturally very proud of that.”

“What’s particularly interesting is that both Justice and Gesaffelstein have resonated across multiple demographics and markets, reflecting the kind of broad, cross-cultural appeal the industry increasingly values today.”

Here, MBW speaks with Findikian about the skills gap in global music, why artist managers sit at the center of the modern industry, and why he’s betting on training executives to work in emerging markets…

Why launch this program now? The industry has had music business education for years — what’s changed?

To meet the demands of [the industry’s] shifting landscape, there is a need for high-quality masters-level education for the people who will work in these [high-growth] territories.

Instead of focusing on domestic Western markets and attempting to force old business models onto regions with different infrastructures and consumption habits, this course trains students to succeed internationally.

We are addressing a gap in the market by building a pipeline of executives with local knowledge to meet the operational, technological, and strategic needs of rapidly expanding territories like LATAM, Asia, India, Africa, and MENA.

What’s the single biggest skills gap you see in the music industry today?

Companies need versatile executives who can navigate legal, economic, creative, and technological challenges simultaneously. The old model of deep specialization in one segment doesn’t match how the business operates anymore. The speed of change means you can’t afford to spend five years learning on the job what a structured program can deliver in one.

The music business has historically been built on informal networks, mentorship, and learning on the job. Many of today’s most powerful executives didn’t study music business formally. What’s changed that makes a Master’s degree more relevant now than it would have been 15 years ago?

The industry is vastly different from what it was 15 years ago in its scale and complexity. While it will always run on relationships, the idea that networking is an innate trait you either have or don’t is outdated. For me, networking isn’t something you’re born with; it’s a skill you develop. Building a strong network is a competency in itself, one that can be learned, practiced, and refined over time.

A master’s degree provides the environment to build that network internationally, connecting students with active senior executives and a cohort of peers long before they enter the job market.

You’ve argued that existing US and UK programs are structured to funnel talent back into their own domestic networks. Can you be specific about how that limits the kind of executives the industry is producing?

The funneling effect tends to produce executives who are highly specialized but less exposed to the diversity of business models, cultural contexts, and growth dynamics shaping emerging markets. As a result, they may be less equipped to navigate the global expansion of the industry, where future value creation increasingly comes from regions like Asia or South America.

What’s needed now are leaders with a genuinely international mindset, capable of operating across markets, disciplines, and sectors of the value chain, not just within one established system.

The program explicitly targets “rapidly expanding territories” including LATAM, Asia, India, Africa, and MENA. How do you build a curriculum that meaningfully covers markets with such fundamentally different infrastructure, regulatory environments, and consumption habits?

The key is not to attempt to standardize these markets, but to teach students how to navigate their differences. Our approach is built around real-world case studies taught by industry practitioners with lived experience operating in these territories. We bring in professionals who have dealt with local infrastructure gaps, regulatory frameworks, and regional consumption patterns across LATAM, Africa, Asia, or MENA.

For example, our curriculum will cover how to adapt superfan strategies to specific market conditions. This involves understanding why certain territories drive strong physical demand, how to leverage mature live economies to secure merchandise sales, and how to utilize regional social networks that offer unique features and data-sharing capabilities.

Just as importantly, these markets are evolving extremely fast, so beyond knowledge, we train students to “learn how to learn”: to continuously adapt, upskill, and rethink their approaches throughout their careers.

Christian De Rosnay, manager of Justice, and Alexandra Pilz Hayot, manager of Gesaffelstein, are your patrons. What does the patron role actually involve, and why were artist managers, specifically, the right people for that role rather than label heads or platform executives?

In most countries, the center of gravity in the music ecosystem is shifting. Ten years ago, labels sat at the core. Today, artists are retaining control over their masters and copyrights to build their own structures. In that context, the manager becomes structurally central — orchestrating strategy across all revenue streams — which is why it made more sense to choose artist managers rather than label or platform executives as patrons of the program.

I know Christian and Alexandra well, and it is an honor that they accepted this role. We specifically asked them to join as patrons because they have succeeded in developing domestic artists on an international scale. They were pioneers in treating music as a global opportunity, and they will share that experience by engaging with students throughout the program.

How did you go about assembling the teaching faculty, and what was the pitch that convinced working executives to commit their time?

At EMIC, we’ve spent the past ten years building strong expertise in identifying and engaging top industry professionals as lecturers. Transmission matters to them. This is a passion-driven industry, and they genuinely want to pass on their knowledge.

They also commit because we’re building an ecosystem: they know the students in our lecture halls are the talent they will recruit tomorrow.

With Nicolas Renault , head of this master’s program, we simply applied these same principles to this new course.

Marie-Anne Robert of Sony Music France (pictured) , Corinne Sadki from the Centre national de la musique, and Morvan Boury from Sony’s global team sit on the advisory board. What does that board actually do: are they shaping curriculum, opening doors for student placements, or is it primarily governance?

Because this is a state-recognized degree, we are required to have an advisory board for governance and oversight. Their role is to ensure that the curriculum remains coherent and fully aligned with the evolving realities of the industry.

Marie-Anne Robert , Corinne Sadki , and Morvan Boury have agreed to take part not only for that governance role, but also because they share the conviction that such a program is necessary and can bring real value to the music industry.

France has produced genuinely global music exports in recent years: Justice, Gesaffelstein, Aya Nakamura, the explosion of French rap. To what extent is this program a product of France’s growing confidence as a music export market, and to what extent is it a bet on markets beyond France entirely?

It’s definitely a source of pride

_Originally reported by [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/the-future-of-the-industry-belongs-to-executives-who-can-bridge-the-creative-commercial-and-technological-divides/)._