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Phillip Rather
Founder and CEO of musical - ex Meta / FB / IG - Mental Health Crusader
Phillip Rather is the Founder and CEO of Musical, a web3 platform designed to help musicians and creatives connect through innovative technology.123 He has an extensive background in technology and business, with over 20 years of experience spanning various industries.
Professional Background:
- Worked at Meta (Facebook/Instagram) for 12 years, holding senior roles including:
- Sr. Director of Local - Global Business Group
- Head of Partnerships - Global Marketing Solutions
- Manager of Agency - Ads API Partnerships3
Current Venture: Musical: Musical is a web3 platform that enables musicians to:
- Access AI tools
- Store intellectual property immutably
- Manage collaborations
- Negotiate splits and royalties
- Distribute music
- Create NFT experiences13
Additional Professional Roles:
- Mentor and startup advisor at Capital Factory
- Co-founder of Pack Supply Co., a lifestyle brand supporting mental health research
- Investor in various health, technology, and innovation companies1
Education:
- Attended The University of Texas at Austin from 1995 to 1999
- Studied Philosophy and Economics3
Personal Mission: Phillip is passionate about emerging web3 platforms and is committed to creating more equitable connections for artists and fans, with a particular emphasis on mental health advocacy.3
Highlights
Can I brag on these little ones a bit? They are on their way to being world class entrepreneurs.
Summer hit and they wanted to start a business. They want to buy things, but they also want to make something from nothing and we can feel that.
So, Mom bought them an ice shaver. Mom bought them bottles to make their own flavors vs paying for premade syrup. Girls are on some supply chain sh!t.
Working hard equaling money is a lesson they all need, and I couldn’t be more proud they know it at 11 and 9.
Let’s go!

The time at Meta taught me a lot of things that influenced how we approached product design and features for our creator platform.
☸ Be a platform from the start. It was clear that to get a new technology to the market, we needed to leverage both the open nature of blockchain and a selectively available group of APIs that allow us to be composable and quickly work with other companies. It will take a village. Facebook did this through integrating into on and off platform applications for use cases from gaming to media buying. Im sorry, but in most cases the apps we discuss in the music industry are not “platforms”.
✏ Research and design matter - a lot. The problem you start solving for is unlikely to be the sole or ultimate use case. However, interviewing as many users upfront as possible and designing the app extensively in figma allows you to set up for flexibility and a growing set of user wants and needs. In a world where crypto projects have rarely had utility, and music creators share no uniting tech or common system, the design really matters for onboarding and ease of use.
📈 Verticalized workflows increase usage and retention. One of the big tipping points was when the self service ad tools at Facebook went from creative first set ups to a “jobs to be done” framework. A small business would now signify what they are trying to accomplish - foot traffic or appointment sign ups for instance - instead of starting with a marketing picture or description. By focusing on the job a creator needs to do, we can avoid the complexities of new or unknown functionality. Music has it’s own workflows when compared to creators at large.
AI and blockchain technology can dramatically impact our ability to create together, but both will need to be integrated into workflows and platform systems to have their full effect.
#platform #productdesign #verticalization
