BubbleUp CEO: AI Is Just the Latest Tool in 50 Years of Tech Cycles
BubbleUp CEO Coleman Sisson draws on five decades in technology to argue the music industry should treat AI as practical leverage, not disruption.
LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, June 3, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- BubbleUp CEO Coleman Sisson draws on fifty years in technology to offer the music industry a grounded perspective on artificial intelligence.Coleman Sisson has been writing software since college. Over the following five decades, he worked through the rise of personal computing, the internet, smartphones, and social media, each accompanied by the same cycle of fear and overhype. Now CEO of BubbleUp, a music technology company that has worked with artists including Luke Bryan, Khruangbin, Avett Brothers, BTS, Eagles, Kelsea Ballerini, Kenny Chesney, and Doechii, Sisson argues the current AI moment is no different.
"After five decades of watching these cycles, one lesson stands out," Sisson writes. "We consistently overestimate the short-term impact of new technology and underestimate the long-term impact."
Sisson traces his experience from 1981, when he purchased a Heathkit personal computer while working as a mainframe programmer, a decision his colleagues mocked, to the adoption of IBM PCs, Lotus 1-2-3, Google, the iPhone, and social media. Each technology reshaped industries and behaviors in ways that initial skeptics failed to anticipate.
His view on AI follows the same logic. Rather than treating it as either an existential threat or a passing trend, Sisson advocates a pragmatic middle path: adopt early, apply thoughtfully, and focus on measurable productivity gains. In his own work, that means using AI to refine presentations, analyze financial reports, review contracts, and pressure-test ideas.
For the music industry specifically, Sisson places AI in a lineage of tools that once generated similar anxiety, including microphones, drum machines, Pro Tools, and streaming. Each was predicted to displace musicians or diminish creativity. Each instead expanded access and increased the volume of music being created and consumed.
"I don't see AI as a replacement," Sisson writes. "I see it as leverage. Used thoughtfully, it enables teams to move faster, experiment more, and focus on higher-value creative and strategic work."
At BubbleUp, that philosophy is already in practice. The company has applied AI to increase revenue for clients, assist with software development, and automate internal processes. Sisson is candid that not every experiment will succeed, but frames that as consistent with how meaningful technology adoption has always worked, through steady integration rather than single breakthroughs.
"The goal isn't to chase hype," Sisson writes. "It's to use AI where it genuinely improves outcomes for the people we serve."
About BubbleUp
BubbleUp is a music technology company that has partnered with major artists for over 20 years to increase revenue, deepen superfan engagement, and broaden fanbases.
Coleman Sisson
BubbleUp
coleman@bubbleup.com
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