Streaming made access abundant. AI is making creation abundant. So where does value migrate next? This week I am going to go pretty theoretical as I explore a contentious but very real possibility for the future of music. What happens when anyone can generate a new album from their favourite artist on demand? I just finished listening to Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer of Google X (Alphabet’s experimental research and development division), bestselling author and p

In an agentic world, consumers may stop choosing content and start choosing outcomes… Last week I wrote a piece entitled ‘After the Feed: A New Era for Music Gatekeeping has Arrived’. It explored the arrival of AI agents and the implications for content and music in particular. I mentioned an agentic personalised audio app called Huxe that I have used regularly since October. Then, on Thursday last week Spotify held their third investor day presentation and within hours the f

A third handover of gatekeeping power has just begun, and most of the music industry isn’t paying attention. A few weeks ago I wrote ‘The Economics of Sameness’ examining why algorithms, AI and commercial pressure increasingly reward familiarity and predictability, making originality both rarer and more valuable. The next day my friend Will Page, the music industry’s most revered economist, told me I needed to talk to Eli Pariser, whose book The Filter Bubble first warned tha

What Today’s Artists Can Learn From The KLF’s Pop Playbook A couple of months ago I decided to revisit The KLF’s classic book, The Manual (How To Have A Number One The Easy Way). It’s a short, brilliant (and very funny) account of how they got to No.1 on the Official UK Singles Chart with ‘Doctorin’ The Tardis’ by The Timelords. Despite being written in 1988, the book is packed with surprisingly relevant insights for today’s aspiring artists, so this week I’m going to break o

If you're an emerging artist, please read on for seven key shifts to help you grow. On Wednesday last week I met with the chief AI scientist building the music model at Klay - the only AI platform with deals in place with all 3 major labels and their publishing arms. And on Friday I met with Paul Sanders, founder of The state51 Conspiracy - over 30 years in the game and a true bastion of independent music. It was a pleasure to spend time with both. I learnt a lot and it certa

Why great music is no longer enough in the age of AI and infinite supply. Whenever I talk about the biggest influences on my taste in music, I always credit John Peel. Peel broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from its inception in 1967 until his death in October 2004 - the station’s longest-serving original DJ, renowned for his late-night shows and for the Peel Sessions that gave emerging artists a national platform. At a time of limited access, Peel Sessions acted as a cultural fast-t

The biggest cultural risk we face right now isn’t decline. It’s convergence. Across our high streets, our streaming platforms, even our ideas, everything is starting to look the same - not because we lack creativity, but because we’ve become exceptionally good at optimising for what works. Open Netflix and the same logic applies. The superhero film/series isn't just a genre anymore - it's an industry within an industry, a hedge against uncertainty at a time when the cost of f