Just under a year ago, Cameron Almasi and Eddie Hermida co-founded Arson Theory, a US-based company offering distribution, publishing and royalties management to artists, songwriters and producers – with a particular focus on artists in the heavy-music world.
In that first year, more than 1,000 clients have joined its network, with a collective 300m streams generated by their music. Arson Theory says that its model “respects ownership, creative identity and artistic intention”.
We found out more by asking Almasi some questions about his company’s ethos, the current challenges (but also opportunities) for heavy music, and some of the wider industry trends that are driving his thinking.
What challenges and opportunities do you see for heavy music right now?
“I think heavy music is thriving creatively and commercially. We are seeing artists in this space generate consumption that, in some cases, sits much closer to pop and rap than people outside the genre might expect.
Acts like Sleep Token, Bad Omens, Falling In Reverse, Knocked Loose and others have shown that heavy music can scale in a very real way, while even more niche artists are reaching all-time highs because the fan communities are so deeply engaged.
The challenge is that the infrastructure around the genre has not fully caught up with the way consumption has changed. One gap is around UGC and short-form content. For a long time, heavy music was slower to embrace platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
There was a stigma around it, almost as if participating in those ecosystems meant compromising the culture. But the reality is that UGC is not about dancing to your song. It is about community, clipping, identity, moments, memes, fandom and discovery. Heavy music has all of those things naturally, but the business side of the genre has been slower to systemise them.
The second challenge is ownership. For years, artists in pop, rap and dance had access to distributors and label-services companies that could be genuinely impactful while still offering artist-friendly terms, short commitments and more flexible splits.
Companies like Empire, AWAL and Create Music Group helped normalise the idea that artists could own their work and still build serious businesses. Heavy music did not have as many options built around that same ethos.
A lot of artists either started on self-service platforms, or they upstreamed into traditional label structures where they were often giving up significant royalty shares and committing long-term.
That does not mean traditional labels have no place. Many have built incredible catalogs and played a major role in this culture. But I do think the genre needed more flexible infrastructure between self-service distribution and full traditional label deals. That is a big part of why Arson Theory exists.
In heavy music, publishing has often been treated as a passive collection function
Cameron Almasi
The third challenge is publishing. In heavy music, publishing has often been treated as a passive collection function. You register the songs, collect the money, and that is the end of the conversation.
In pop, rap and dance, publishing can be a creative engine. It can create rooms, develop writers, pair producers with artists and help build careers. Heavy music has incredible producers and writers who are not just engineers or mixers, they are part of the creative DNA of the records.
People like Will Putney, Zakk Cervini, Dan Braunstein, Drew Fulk, Zach Jones,
Hunter Young and many others are valuable not only because of how records sound, but because of how they help shape the songs.
That is where I see a major opportunity: modern rights ownership, active publishing, smarter UGC strategy, and a more artist-friendly service model built specifically for heavy music.”
What are the key needs of the musicians you’ve been working with?
“At the core, artists in every genre want the same thing: they want to work with people who care, communicate clearly, understand their vision and can actually help move the business forward.
Money matters, of course. Advances matter. Resources matter. But I have seen first-hand that a lot of artists will choose trust, communication and cultural understanding over the biggest cheque.
That is especially true in heavy music, because these are not disposable fanbases. These are communities built on identity, taste, loyalty and authenticity. Artists can feel very quickly when someone understands that world and when someone is just trying to monetise it.
You have to understand the entire ecosystem, not just the DSP dashboard
Cameron Almasi
Heavy artists also need a partner who understands that their business may not look like a traditional pop business. A band may not have 20 million monthly listeners, but they might sell a significant amount of tickets, move a lot of merch, press vinyl that sells out instantly, and build a community that will support them for years.
You have to understand the entire ecosystem, not just the DSP dashboard. That is why, for us, the value proposition has to be clear.
A platform like DistroKid is very good at what it does. It is inexpensive, simple and convenient. So if you are asking an artist to give you a percentage of their income instead of paying a flat subscription, the tradeoff has to be meaningful.
You have to bring relationship, strategy, communication, DSP support, rights management, publishing, marketing perspective, merch infrastructure and real creative value. For Arson Theory, the key is that we are not trying to be just a dashboard. We want to be a partner.
The artist should feel like there is a real person on the other side who understands their
music, their audience, their goals and the culture they come from.”
How have you built transparency and fairness into how Arson Theory operates?
“Transparency is personal to us because our perspective comes from both sides of the industry. Before starting Arson Theory, I spent almost a decade managing artists in pop, rap and dance.
That was during a period where TikTok was emerging, distribution was changing, and ownership became a central conversation for young artists. A lot of artists started asking, ‘Why do I need to give up my masters if I can build an audience directly and still access distribution, marketing and services?’
My co-founder Eddie Hermida came from a very different but equally important perspective. He is the vocalist of All Shall Perish and Suicide Silence, two bands I grew up listening to. He experienced the heavy music business during a period when artists had far less leverage, less information and fewer paths to ownership.
We believe artists should understand what they are signing, what they are paying for, what they are giving up, and what they are receiving in return
Cameron Almasi
He saw firsthand what it looked like when artists gave up control and did not always participate fairly in the value they helped create. Those two perspectives shaped Arson Theory.
We believe artists should understand what they are signing, what they are paying for, what they are giving up, and what they are receiving in return. We try to avoid vague promises. We would rather be clear about what we can do and then build trust through execution.
That is also why we built our services in tiers. Not every artist needs the same level of support, and not every relationship should start with a deep long-term commitment. Sometimes the right first step is distribution. Sometimes it is publishing administration. Sometimes it is rights management, sync, merch or label services.
Over time, if there is real synergy and both sides are seeing value, the relationship can deepen. To me, fairness is not just about a split on paper. It is about clarity, communication, realistic expectations and giving artists a pathway to scale without immediately asking them to surrender control.”
What is exciting you as a growth opportunity for your artists in 2026?
“The biggest opportunity is ownership becoming aspirational in heavy music. In rap, there was a major shift years ago where being independent and owning your masters became part of the culture. It became something artists were proud of. I think heavy music is now entering a similar moment.
More artists are realising they can build real careers, make serious money, and keep more control over their rights if they have the right infrastructure around them.
When artists see bands like Paleface Swiss and Shadow Of Intent building real businesses without following the old blueprint, it changes the psychology of the scene. It reduces the pressure to see a traditional record deal as the only form of validation.
Even legacy acts exploring independence sends a message that ownership and flexibility are no longer just early-stage ideas. They can be part of a long-term strategy.
The second major opportunity is D2C commerce. Heavy music has always had strong merch culture, but I think the model is evolving. More artists are treating merch like streetwear: limited runs, strong creative direction, scarcity, timed drops, special vinyl variants, and a real sense of event around each release.
The opportunity is not just TikTok. It is Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, fan edits, live clips, studio clips, Discord communities, Reddit threads, meme pages and creator ecosystems
Cameron almasi
Psycho-Frame is a great example from our world. Their drops have generated serious demand and often sell out very quickly. That tells you something important: the fanbase is not passive. If the product, branding and timing are right, they show up.
The third opportunity is UGC and short-form discovery. I think the genre has finally moved past the idea that short-form content is somehow incompatible with heavy music.
The opportunity is not just TikTok. It is Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, fan edits, live clips, studio clips, Discord communities, Reddit threads, meme pages and creator ecosystems. Heavy music has always been community-driven, and these platforms are simply new places for that community to express itself.
What excites me is that heavy music does not need to copy pop marketing. It needs to translate its own culture into modern formats. The artists who understand that are going to have a major advantage.”
What’s your take on how well (or not) streaming works for heavy artists?
“Streaming is important, but I do not think streaming alone tells the full story of heavy music. Some genres are built for broad passive consumption.
Pop and rap can scale incredibly well on streaming because the songs often reach a wide audience and fit naturally into high-volume playlists and everyday listening habits. That can create massive DSP numbers, but it does not always translate into deep fan affinity, ticket sales or merch conversion.
Heavy music is different. It is usually a higher-affinity business. A band may not have the same monthly listeners as a mainstream pop act, but the listeners they do have can be extremely committed. They buy tickets, vinyl, merch, VIP packages and limited drops. They travel for shows. They join communities. They identify with the artist in a way that goes beyond casual listening.
You see this across heavy music, dance music and other high-affinity genres. Artists like Knocked Loose, Bad Omens, Kublai Khan TX, Bring Me The Horizon, Excision, Subtronics and Svdden Death show that a deeply engaged audience can build a very powerful business, even when the streaming numbers do not always look like mainstream pop numbers.
I do not believe a career should be built around waiting for a playlist placement
Cameron almasi
On the editorial and playlisting side, I think heavy music has made progress, but I also think artists can overestimate the role playlists should play in their growth. Playlisting is valuable. Editorial support is valuable. Algorithmic momentum matters. But I do not believe a career should be built around waiting for a playlist placement.
The bigger question is: where is the momentum starting? In many cases, breakthroughs are happening on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, Discord, live clips, creator pages and fan communities before they show up meaningfully on DSPs. Once that cultural momentum exists, the streaming conversation often becomes easier.
So my view is that heavy artists should absolutely care about streaming, but they should not let playlisting become the center of their strategy. The real goal is to build community and demand. If you can do that, streaming becomes one part of a much larger and much healthier business.”
