What I Want To See From Music In 2025
A big year awaits us in music - here's what I'd like to see to change for the better.
Last week I shared my musical new years resolutions, things I’m going to try and do to make my musical experience - professionally and personally - more enjoyable this year. I’ve already made a start by binning off two toxic social media platforms Twitter & Threads, so the only place you’ll find me online now is Bluesky and Instagram (I know Instagram is just as bad as the others, but for now I’m still getting enjoyment out of it so it stays… for now.)
The music industry is constantly in flux, it has been really since the late 90’s and the advent of digital music. You could argue it started twenty years before that when CD’s came out, but certainly over the past couple of decades we’ve seen a huge change in how we consume and market music. Music piracy has all but disappeared as a meaningful threat (it still exists, but it’s little more than a niche pastime these days), the download is hanging in there, but it’s pretty much an afterthought to most labels release campaigns (it shouldn’t be, and I’ll tell you why later). Streaming has been the dominant force for the past seven or eight years, but now that’s got it’s own critical issues - just before Christmas an expose of how Spotify promotes “fake” artists on it’s platform was published, but anyone who works in music knows it’s been happening for years. These fake artists now face their own existential crisis in the form of AI, why pay anyone to make music when some program can churn out all manner of guff for free?
People see AI as a huge threat, but I’m not so sure. Maybe it will come to be, but at the moment it’s shit. AI search results on Google? Wildly inaccurate. AI images? Getting better, but still obviously fake. AI music? Technically passable (I wrote about this last year), but where’s the story? Where’s the soul? Sure it’s going to constantly improve, but as creatives we’re constantly improving too. Good art & culture will always be one step ahead.
So 2025 is shaping up to be another interesting year in music. It’s an industry with a whole heap of challenges, many of which won’t be easily solvable, but I remain hopeful that there’s enough people in this industry who want to do better - who won’t be taken in by the speedy assistance in the race-to-the-bottom that AI offers. Here’s what I’d like to see the music industry at least try to do in 2025.
Less AI
An obvious one given what I’ve started this newsletter with. Don’t use AI, or at least try and use it in a creative manner if you absolutely have to. The nature of AI models is that they learn from those that use them. The more we use them, the better they’ll get, but at what cost? Your music, your output deserves better than AI. You’re making your records to stand out - put some thought into how you present them. Falling back on AI generated artwork not only looks shit, it’s lazy. Why should you expect labels, journalists or DSP’s to give a shit about your release if you can’t even be bothered to spend time on the artwork. Same goes for sales notes too. Tell a story about your record, and make it personal. You’re putting this track out for a reason, so let us know why. I’ve nothing against anyone using tools to help polish their spelling or grammar, but typing “write a press release for my new techno track” into ChatGPT or whatever is selling yourself short.
On top of all this, it’s incredibly damaging to the environment. In a week where wildfires are ravaging California, threatening homes, wildlife and human lives the fact that a simple query ChatGPT uses around half a litre of water astounds me. What good is it doing? What use is there for ChatGPT that a spellchecker or online thesaurus can’t solve? It’s a lazy way of doing things, and it’s a disaster for us all.
More Substacks…
There’s so many great Substacks popping up all the time, but so far they’ve generally been from journalists or fans. Labels, artists, designers, engineers: what are you working on? We go on so much about the concept of the Superfan, but here’s this great opportunity to really speak to them, to give them detail and context and bonus material and even monetise it. I think we’ll probably see an explosion in Substacks direct from the source next year, and I’m all for it.
More Thoughtful Reissues
A tough one this, as it’s reissues that do well. But no-one needs another reissue of something that’s been reissued ten times already. If you’re going to reissue something, make it special. Why does this record deserve to be reissued? Is it just a cash-grab or something more meaningful? There’s many good reasons to reissue a record, but if you’re going to do it try and add something to the original. I’m always disappointed when I get a reissue and it’s just a bit of vinyl in a discobag. Find some old pictures, alternative artwork concepts, interview the artist, get someone to write sleevenotes (I’ll write the sleevenotes for you if you want!) do a bonus disc of rarities, anything that adds to the package.
Less Superfans, Bigger Fanbases
The Superfan probably doesn’t exist, at least not in the way the music industry wants you to think it does. Of course all artists (and labels) have fans who’ll consume everything they do, but I’m not sure they need rinsing any more. Keep those fans engaged but look at growing your fanbase. What’s better, 10 fans who spend £100 a year or 100 fans who spend £15 a year? It’s hard work, but it’s doable and there’s ways and means to add fans into your sphere (and if anyone wants to reach out to discuss this I’m always happy to help).
The Return of the Download
Streaming has loads of benefits, for sure, and despite what you read on social media makes up the biggest chunk of income for many artists and labels. That said, it still isn’t distributed that fairly, either because of the DSP’s royalty calculation methods or the artists deals with labels. But downloads are still there, and they still pay many multiples of a stream. Even a ‘superfan’ probably won’t stream a track enough times in a year to make up for the income of one download sale. But we forget all about them don’t we? Getting in playlists, sorting out Spotify profiles, pre-saves and all that. But pushing downloads is far more lucrative, and comes with the added bonus of being chart eligible. It’s worth looking at refocusing your digital strategy next year to give the humble download a bit more love, after all we’ll miss them when they’re gone.
But Nothing Will Change That Much…
Spotify will still be the dominant streaming service. People still won’t use YouTube Shorts that much compared to Instagram & TikTok. Apple Music will continue to really bring decent innovations to the table. Beatport streaming will get more users on board, but DJs will still prefer to carry heavy USB sticks into the club. TikTok won’t get banned in the USA and labels will still throw money at trying to go viral on there. A track will go viral on TikTok without any financial backing from a label. Records will still be really expensive. There’ll be a whole summer of Britpop nostalgia. A track created with AI will get to Number One in the charts.
Other News
It’s been a traditionally slow start to the year, of course but there’s still a few bits I wanted to touch on.
As mentioned last week I’ve taken out a subscription to Hearing Things. Jury’s still out for me, but I found this primer on Dub Techno and the new strain of Dub Techno an interesting read. It won’t teach you anything new, but it was enjoyable all the same, despite the assertion that it’s club musics ‘weediest’ genre. Not sure they’ve thought that one through.
DJ Alfredo died just before Christmas. The Ibiza myth has many many sides to it’s story, but I think most people can agree on Alfredo being there from the start. He first started playing Amnesia back in 1983, the year I was born. Legend has it he was behind the decks when Oakenfold, Rampling, Holloway and Walker rocked up and decided to bring house music to the UK… whether you believe that or not is up to you, but one thing is agreed on: no-one had as much influence on Ibiza and Balearic (as a genre) as Alfredo. RIP.
Spotify’s been back in the news again as Liz Pelly is about to publish a new book on just how it works. If I had a pound for every time I’ve been asked “how do we get our tracks into playlists” I’d be a rich man. This book won’t answer that, but it does shine a light on some of the ways Spotify populate their platform, especially with what’s called ‘Perfect Fit Content’ ie. tracks made especially for Spotify to fit the mood on a certain playlist. It’s essentially Muzak for the streaming generation. Is the game rigged against you? Not quite, but it’s harder than ever to cut through the noise.
Boiler Room have produced a new audience report called The New Rules of Youth Culture. I’m not really sure what to make of it - apparently 73% of their community “approach clubbing with intention, aiming to create safe, meaningful spaces that reflect their values”. I used to go clubbing to get fucked up and hear good tunes on a big system, but maybe that’s just me.
Reviews
Still slim pickings on the new music front, but here’s a few bits to get your year started.
Mala - Changes [Deep Medi]
Alright, it’s not new, but it is simply one of the most legendary tracks released this millennium. Mala’s Changes has been repressed a couple of times since it came it out in 2007 but never with Jah Power Dub on the B-Side. Don’t just buy this if you’re gonna play it on a Crossley, it needs a proper big system to appreciate the weight of the bassline.
Franz Ferdinand - The Human Fear [Domino]
I listened to the first Franz Ferdinand album the other day. It’s still really good, and clocks in at a nice and tight 38 minutes. This new one is thankfully just as short but hasn’t grabbed me in nearly the same way. The first track is just a bit meh, and the rest of it doesn’t get anywhere close to hitting the highs of their debut. Maybe I need to give it another couple of listens, but something tells me I won’t.
Myriad Myriads - All The Hits [Wrong Speed Records]
This is a follow up to the tape that came out on The Trilogy Tapes back in September. Myriad Myriads is an alias of Bass Clef, and here he pays tribute to some of his favourite dance records. It’s a bit of a game of ‘spot the sample’ and you’ll have fun with it.
G-Man - Throw [Syncrophone]
Proper techno this, from the former LFO man. I’m not sure if I was hoping for or expecting a Paperclip People cover here, but it’s not that. Just a banger.
Jan Jelinek - Komischer Pitch [Faitiche]
A reissue of Jelinek’s 2005 record here. If you liked GAS’s Pop, you’ll love this.
Two Lone Swordsmen - Still My World [Rotters Golf Club]
Another reissue, this came out on wax for Record Store Day last year. I traipsed all over Cambridge to no avail looking for a copy, but managed to pick one up on Discogs the following week. Originally released back in the early 00’s on CD in Japan only, it’s an interesting artefact, showing the Swordsmen beginning to leave the Tiny Reminders era behind, in a way previewing what was to come later. I’m gonna write a bit more on Weatherall in a future IST so keep ‘em peeled for that.
V/Z - It’s Cold In Baltimore [Offen]
Valentia Magaletti has probably been the artist of the past couple of years, collaborating with pretty much every interesting musician going, part of Moin and just simply an incredible musician in their own right. This new tape, a second collab with Zongamin picks up where the last one left off and is well worth your time.
S.O.N.S - Drive [Kalahari Oyster Cult]
It’s still good to hear Techno that can surprise you. S.O.N.S has been knocking out the tunes for a few years now, but you’ve had to score the highly covetable vinyl to hear it before. This is his first to hit streaming, and it’s a belter.
That’s it for this week, thanks as always for reading and subscribing. I still want to make In Strict Tempo even better this year, so any feedback to owen@instricttempo.com will be greatfully received!