Unboxing the Music Business
New Thinking for a New World - a Tallberg Foundation Podcast
06/04/26
•32m
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What does it take to make a life in music — not just artistically, but economically? Ye Jin Min has thought about this question from every angle. A violinist, composer, singer, and conductor with deep roots in both classical Western repertoire and experimental forms that defy easy categorization, she has built an extraordinary artistic life. But she’s also a pragmatist who understands that creativity without sustainability is fragile.
In this episode of New Thinking for a New World, Ye Jin introduces us to Unboxed Musicians — her venture to create new economic structures for musicians and composers worldwide. Still in its early stages, the model has the potential to reshape how music is made, funded, and shared globally.
We discuss:
- The economics of classical and experimental music — and why they’re so daunting
- What it means to be both an artist and an entrepreneur
- How Unboxed Musicians works and why it’s needed
- The relationship between creative freedom and financial sustainability
- What a healthier music ecosystem could look like globally
🎵 Also: Ye Jin Min — The Music (Part 2) The best way to understand and appreciate music is to listen to it. In a companion episode, hear three pieces imagined, composed, and played by Ye Jin Min with help from some of her friends: Vinyl Road, Honey, and Four Moons with Koriobots.
Listen to Part 2: https://tallbergfoundation.org/podcasts/unboxing-the-music-business/
Previous Episode
Democracy Succeeds (At Least in Bangladesh)
March 5
•36m
It is not news that democracy is in trouble almost everywhere. Poll after poll shows that people in most countries—especially in the West and throughout the Americas—are disappointed with democracy as it exists today. This is particularly true among young people, many of whom seem to prefer a strong leader to the apparent impotence of their democratic leaders.
Of course, there are exceptions, and we should celebrate them. Top of that list is Bangladesh, with a history of autocratic leaders, some of whom used elections to hang on to power for years. However, during the summer of 2024, a student-led revolution succeeded in expelling the government of Sheikh Hasina, who had ruled for 15 years.
Fast-forward to February 2026, and Bangladesh has just conducted an election that, by all accounts, was mostly free, fair, and peaceful. The result was that the interim government, led by Nobel Prize-winning Muhammad Yunus, has now been replaced by a democratically elected government. From start to finish, the entire transformation took less than 20 months.
Score one for democracy!
Our guests on New Thinking for a New World were in the front ranks of that revolution. Aysha Siddiqua Tithi and Umama Fatema were both leaders of Students Against Discrimination, the organization that drove the revolution. Listen as they discuss their experiences and hopes for their country's future.
Know a leader who's shaping our global future with courage, innovation, and ethics? Nominate them for Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize by March 31, 2026: https://tallberg-snf-eliasson-prize.org/nominate/
Next Episode
Ye Jin Min: The Music (Part 2)
June 4
•11m
In our recent conversation, Ye Jin Min spoke about the economics of making a life in music — the structural challenges, the drive to create, and her new venture Unboxed Musicians. But talk about music only goes so far.
In this short companion episode, we let the music speak for itself. Three pieces, imagined, composed, and played by Ye Jin Min with help from some of her friends:
No further commentary needed. Just listen.
🎧 If you haven’t heard Part 1 yet — Unboxing the Music Business — we recommend starting there. https://tallbergfoundation.org/podcasts/unboxing-the-music-business/
New Thinking for a New World is a podcast from the Tällberg Foundation. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
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