MEET ENTERTAINMENT'S FUTURE LEADERS: MORGAN COATES

Los Angeles–based but very much UK-focused, Morgan Coates is helping to redefine what “physical music” means in the digital age. As Head of Music Partnerships at IYK, he is leading the development of innovative new formats that merge physical products with digital music, transforming the way fans experience and collect their favourite releases.

“IYK is creating a new kind of physical music format,” he explains. “Fans can buy an item – like a lanyard, a patch or a piece of merch – embedded with an NFC chip. Tap it with your phone and you unlock the album, to stream or download. You have to own the physical product to access the music, which makes it both collectible and functional.”

That blend of the tactile and the technological has already proven a breakthrough. “Our recent campaign with Ed Sheeran was pretty mind-blowing,” says Morgan. “We produced NFC lanyards for his album Play and we ended up with 67% of album downloads reporting to the charts in the first week came from these products. In other words, they generated more chart downloads in the first week than both Apple and Amazon combined. It showed there’s real appetite for innovation in the physical space.”

The project also helped mark IYK’s expansion into the UK market. “The UK has been a huge breakthrough for us,” he says. “Working with ERA and the Official Charts Company has been incredible – they’ve been forward-thinking and open to exploring new tech. The UK’s openness has allowed us to test and prove a completely new model for physical music.”

Morgan’s global perspective comes naturally. A Canadian who divides his time between Los Angeles, London and periods working in Mexico and the Netherlands, he’s a true multi-territory operator. His career, too, has been international from the start.

He began in the studio world, studying audio engineering and cutting his teeth as an assistant to legendary producers including Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd) and Garth Richardson (Rage Against the Machine). “I thought I was going to be a producer,” he laughs. “But after years of long studio hours, I realised there were other parts of the business that interested me.”

He moved into marketing, first at Toronto indie label Six Shooter Records, then to Los Angeles, where he joined Atlantic Records and management company MDD. There he worked with artists including Royal & the Serpent, helping to build their digital presence while on tour with acts such as Demi Lovato and Fall Out Boy.

It was during his time at Atlantic that Morgan first came across IYK. “They were working mainly with brands like Nike and Mastercard, and I thought their tech could be amazing for artists. I became one of their first music clients, integrating their chips into artist campaigns – and eventually I joined the company to lead the music partnerships team.”

Today, IYK is all-in on music. “Our focus is on connecting artists and fans directly,” he says. “Even in 2025, many artist teams don’t really know who their fans are. We’re building tools to help capture first-party data, understand audiences and nurture real fan relationships.”

He also sees IYK’s products as part of a wider resurgence in physical media. “You can see it everywhere – vinyl, cassettes, collectors’ editions,” he says. “Fans want to own something tangible. Our products let them do that in a modern way. Any fan with a phone can tap and play instantly, but they still have something to hold and show off as part of their collection.”

Being selected for ERA’s Future Leaders Programme has given Morgan a new vantage point on the broader industry. “It’s such an interesting mix of people – streaming platforms, physical retailers, tech companies,” he says. “I’m excited to learn from everyone and to share what’s happening in our world of emerging technology. I’d love to help make this new physical format accessible to every artist, not just the top tier.”

He believes ERA has a key role to play. “If we can invent together the next generation of physical music – the new CD, so to speak – that would be huge,” he says. “The UK is the perfect place to start. It’s where innovation and tradition come together.”

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A new artist/track to look out for?

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The biggest issue facing the music industry?

One of the biggest challenges facing the music industry today is the fragmentation and inaccessibility of fan data. Artists and their teams lack direct access to information about their most engaged supporters — the fans buying concert tickets, collecting merch, and showing up consistently. Instead, this data is siloed within third-party platforms that prioritize their own algorithms and ad models over artist-fan relationships. As a result, artists are forced to operate within systems that limit their ability to reach, understand, and build direct connections with their fans. They may have millions of followers or streams, but very little clarity on who their true fans are or how to engage them directly.  Artists deserve to own their relationships with their fans — to have the tools, data, and autonomy to build their own world and engage fans directly. Likewise, fans deserve to be recognized and rewarded for their support over time. I want to see a future music industry where there is a more direct, transparent, and mutually beneficial connection between artists and the fans who support them most. No more superfans stuck in ticket queues fighting against bots, please!