Brew Markets: A Debate with Steve Aoki – Do DJs’ Skills Apply to Investing? & New Tariffs

Podcast: Brew Markets – Morning Brew
Host: Ann Berry
Date: September 26, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ann Berry breaks down the latest waves of tariffs, activist investor moves in Six Flags, and—most importantly—dives deep with iconic DJ, producer, and venture capitalist Steve Aoki. The lively conversation explores whether creative instincts honed in music can be successfully translated into the investment world, how Aoki chooses investments in health, wellness, and culture, and the nuanced role of celebrity in venture capital. AI’s disruptive influence on music and art is also debated, with both optimism and caution. This summary captures the best insights, quotes, and ideas for investors, founders, and fans alike.

Key Episode Segments & Discussion Highlights

1. Tariffs and Market Ripples

Starts: 00:01

• Major Tariffs Announced:

  • 50% tariffs on imported kitchen and bathroom cabinets; 30% on upholstered furniture (Oct 1)
  • 100% tariffs on branded/patented pharmaceuticals unless US-based production (impacting mostly generics)
  • 25% tariffs on heavy trucks, impacting mostly vehicles assembled in Mexico

• Market Response:

  • Williams Sonoma, RH, and Wayfair stocks fell; La-Z-Boy and Ethan Allen (US manufacturing) gained.
  • Pharma shares like Pfizer and Eli Lilly ticked up, as did GSK's US-made drugs.
  • Daimler Truck stock slipped due to truck tariffs.

• TikTok Spinoff: President Trump approved $14B spin-off of TikTok’s US business from ByteDance; commentary on potential future social media M&A.

2. Ann Berry Interviews Steve Aoki: DJ Skills as Investment Edge?

Main Interview Starts: 04:37

Aoki’s Path from Music to Investing

• Early Start:

  • Began investing after success as a DJ in the early 2010s.
  • First investments: a house in LA, art collectibles, and restaurants.
  • Attributes risk appetite and early investment habits to watching his mother invest—with success—in public markets like Tesla and Apple.

  "My mom always said real estate is the answer...I kind of learned that from her. But I didn't really put too much money in the stock market." —Steve Aoki (07:33)

• Spotting Trends

  • Compares finding breakout artists (“A&R”) to identifying promising startups.
  • Early-stage investing is about capturing a “bubbling” excitement in niche, passionate communities, which often signal broader potential.

  "A lot of the bubbling happens in niche worlds...you feel the energy with not millions of people, but they're louder than millions of passive people." —Steve Aoki (08:49)

• Public vs. Private Markets

  • Aoki mostly dabbled in public equities, with Nvidia in 2019 being a standout winner.

  "I was early with Nvidia because I got in 2019...I never sold it." —Steve Aoki (08:09–08:36)

Building Aoki Labs: Managing Other People's Money

• Scaling Up
  • Transitioned from personal investments with his music team to launching Aoki Labs, a venture fund with outside LPs.
  • Emphasizes increased due diligence, professional team decision-making, and the gravity of managing OPM (other people’s money).

  “We’re putting far more diligence into that than if it was my money...I’m pretty confident with every single company. Not all will be successful, but proud of the cultural imprint.” —Steve Aoki (11:57–13:07)

Focus Areas: Health, Longevity, Culture

• Personal Connection

  • Invests in health, wellness, and longevity companies he personally tries and believes in.
  • Looks for products with strong data/metrics focus (Superpower: affordable biomarker tracking), gut health (SuperGut), clean energy (Neuro), and DTC (direct-to-consumer) B2C models (Final Boss, Neuro).

  “All the companies that we invest into in the health side of things, I try personally.” — Steve Aoki (14:18)

  • On Superpower:

  “At one point it was $100,000 to get all that data...they’re doing it for $200.” — Steve Aoki (15:08)

• Investment Process

  • Prioritizes meeting founders, experiencing products, and picking teams over just ideas.

  "There's a million great ideas, but the driver of the idea...if they know how to do the driving, then we're going to put the money into that." — Steve Aoki (15:31)

Meme Stocks, Crypto, and Risk Appetite

Discussion: 19:01–22:14

• Fun vs. Diligence:

  • Got in early on GameStop “for fun” as a gamer; does not mix speculative plays with fund capital.
  • Early and ongoing buyer of Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and Ripple.

  “When it comes to fun, we completely push that out of the labs...I’m not going to put other people’s money into that.” — Steve Aoki (21:11–21:25) “I think [Bitcoin] does hit a million...eventually it’ll get there.” — Steve Aoki (19:47)

• Professional Investment Discipline:

  • Aoki Labs passes on many deals Steve personally likes:

  “My team has rejected a lot more than I was like, but this is looking really good...And I’m happy that they know things I don’t." (21:38–21:58)

The Celebrity-VC Conundrum

Discussion: 22:14–24:40

• Compared: Kim Kardashian (SKKY), the Chainsmokers, Serena Williams, Ashton Kutcher—with mixed success.

• On being taken seriously: Confidence built through a decade+ investing, strong diligence, and hands-on product experience.

  “I don’t think that way now...Just being in the space of investing for this period of time, I feel confident because I’m doing my own daily due diligence and then I have a team.” — Steve Aoki (22:53)

• On successful celebrity brands:

  “They have the initial like, hey, I’m here, everyone see me, but can they get over the hump of actually riding this business up? ...There are plenty of other celebrity-backed brands that don’t have what it takes.” — Steve Aoki (24:27)

Ethical Dilemmas: Data Privacy in Health Tech

Discussion: 25:16–27:36

• Weighs the trade-offs in collecting health data (e.g., Apple, 23andMe) vs. privacy, insurance risks.
• Leans toward “knowledge is power”; prefers to have the information, acknowledging potential risks.

  “I would rather have the data than not...If I have to choose, like this might be leaked and this could affect your insurance...or no information, I would much prefer the information.” — Steve Aoki (27:16–27:36)

AI in Music: Threat or Opportunity?

Discussion: 27:36–32:34

• Invests in Music AI (mixing/mastering), not creative generation—views as a tool, not a threat (yet).

  “If you can get AI to do [mixing/mastering]...that can alleviate a lot more just energy and focus to what's most important...That's a need for producers and artists.” — Steve Aoki (28:18)

• Experiences irreplaceable by AI:

  “One thing AI and the digital world can't replicate is to be in the crowd amongst all these people, feeling that same energy. You can never take that experience away.” — Steve Aoki (30:11)

• But acknowledges future potential for AI-generated, large-scale sonic/visual “experiences”:

  “I totally see that happening. And I see that being a sellout...it's an AI experience. You see a movie, it's not a play...Anime, they're digitally created characters.” — Steve Aoki (31:14–31:18)

Creative Careers in the Age of AI

Discussion: 32:35–37:27

• To his newborn son and aspiring creators: Try everything, master what you love—AI cannot easily replace authentic human impact or the ability to make memories.

  “At the end of the day, it's entertainment. You want to entertain people, you want to make them feel something.” — Steve Aoki (36:46)

• On human uniqueness:

  “There are so many different reasons why I, you know, have made an imprint on people's lives...that they get the hairs rising on the arms and they’ll never forget.” — Steve Aoki (36:38–36:46)

On AI and the Singularity

Discussion: 37:27–39:37

• Relays Ray Kurzweil’s projection of eventual “merging” with AI—humans may not even distinguish between artificial and biological cognition.

  “We’re already connected to our phones...But in the future, we're just going to be connected to some sort of cloud where we don't know the difference between AI and our left or right brain.” —Steve Aoki (39:02)

Lightning Round: Steve’s Quick Picks

Starts: 39:54

• Music Festival: Las Vegas over Dubai
• Speakers: Bose over Sonos
• Collectibles: Pokémon cards over baseball cards, except for Shohei Ohtani
• Cake: Sheet cake (must be microwaved for maximum caking effect)

“Sheet cake. As long as it’s microwaved and soft so that when I cake you, it melts all over your face.” — Steve Aoki (40:55)

Most Memorable Quotes

• On niche trends:

  "The volume comes from the passion...I'm attracted to that." — Steve Aoki (09:22)

• On investment philosophy:

  "There's a million great ideas, but the driver in that of the idea is...far greater importance to me." — Steve Aoki (15:29)

• On AI’s future in music:

  “AI created music experiences will happen—that's 100% gonna happen...I was blown away. I could have watched eight hours of that and was just completely entranced.” — Steve Aoki (31:18–32:34)

• On what can’t be replaced:

  "At the end of the day, it’s entertainment. You want to entertain people, you want to make them feel something special." — Steve Aoki (36:46)

• On uncertainty and optimism:

  “We won’t know the difference [between AI and our own cognition]...If we merge, then [AI] will move us. We won’t know the difference.” — Steve Aoki (39:02–39:37)

Additional Market Wrap (41:16–42:06)

• Stocks rebounded after PCE index data in line with expectations.
• Intel rallied over 6% on investment rumors (Apple & TSM).
• Six Flags up 5% on activist investor push to monetize real estate.

For listeners, this episode offered a dynamic lens on how skills from music, entertainment, and culture can transfer into investing—especially when paired with genuine curiosity, discipline, and willingness to evolve. It’s also a front-row seat to how AI, health data, meme stocks, and personal brand are converging in today’s capital markets.