KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
The biggest musical story of the year. Outsiders base an animated film on a niche musical style and triumph. Illustrating that the mainstream music business is out of touch with the public and what it wants. The mainstream still thinks it's the era of 80s MTV...where the obvious is hyped to success. There was nothing obvious about "KPop Demon Hunters." If you have children as young as three in the house, you know the phenomenon. Proving the power of Netflix and availability. Launching to everybody at the same time? Genius! Which the film business abhors, it wants people to pay a lot to be the first to see their product and most people choose not to. Furthermore, unlike a lot of hip-hop, a lot of one chord "hits," the songs from "KPop Demon Hunters" were singable, and the kids did (and still do!) This will be the biggest tour of 2026.
BAD BUNNY
You can't argue with success. Music transcends politics, if it's got a good beat and people want to listen to it you can't stop them. Also, by doing all those shows in Puerto Rico...Bad Bunny showed allegiance to his roots and proved that fans will come to you.
THE SPHERE
Cost of video production keeps going down and everything sells out. It's a unique experience you can't get anywhere else. Seemingly no one believed but Jim Dolan, who had a vision, put his money where his mouth was and ultimately succeeded, the Sphere is heading towards the black. And, as good as the visuals are, the sound is on a par.
NO ERAS TOUR
Hit records lift all boats, and so do hit tours. They get people talking about music, excited, they want to belong, which is even more important in today's multifarious world. In addition, the Eras Tour press was ubiquitous, getting everybody excited about Taylor Swift and belonging to her fan base and having a unique experience at the show...you had to be there. There was not an equivalent this year.
As for Ms. Swift... She tried to keep the ball rolling, via documentaries. Which garnered press at first, but not thereafter. Because a documentary is different from the live experience. And there was no record-breaking hook to hype on a continuous basis. As for Swift's new album "The Life of a Showgirl"...despite the Taylor Easter egg promotion, despite ramping up all the press, the album has fallen flat culturally. As for success re sales/streams/chart numbers... Those numbers don't resonate the way they used to. True fans know they're manipulated with vinyl and everybody's always claiming success online...so the cultural impact is more important than the statistics, and "The Life of a Showgirl" didn't have much...it didn't even generate a song that broke out of the Taylorsphere.
NO CHAPPELL ROAN
She broke via festival appearances, she had large mindshare, and no one came along to fill the hole this year. No breakthrough act.
DRAKE/KENDRICK LAMAR FEUD
Nothing equivalent transpired. Once again, like the Eras Tour and Chappell Roan, this feud and its tunes got people paying attention, there was not an equivalent attention-getting story in music this year.
NO SONG OF THE SUMMER
Because nothing has universal purchase, not because there were no great songs. Then again, the song of the summer is usually mindless, and in these troubled times, that does not resonate.
UNIVERSAL/DOWNTOWN
The biggest story in the music business, the end result is presently unknown. But if Universal is allowed to swallow Downtown it will put an incredible crimp in the indie world, because almost all indie lanes will be controlled by the majors. The majors will be privy to the data, and in the twenty first century, data is very important, but the real story is after twenty five years of disruption, if this deal goes through, the majors will be back in almost total control of recorded music distribution.
TICKETMASTER
Still the most hated company in America. None of the stain ever sticks to the acts. There is a government lawsuit hanging in the balance, but Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent, got ahead of the game, it appointed Richard Grenell to its board, a Trump crony who has overseen the havoc at what is now known as the Trump Kennedy Center. If you kiss Trump's butt, things tend to go your way. Then again, all Kid Rock got for his support of Trump was a press conference and theoretical support of Bots Act enforcement, which so far we have not seen.
BOTS
Are here to stay. As is the secondary market. NFL game prices flex, depending on the opponent and the importance of the game. Super Bowl tickets are hugely expensive. But somehow music tickets must be cheap in order to theoretically satiate hard core fans. Until acts charge what the tickets are worth, we will continue to have this cat and mouse game between the primary ticketer and the secondary market.
VINYL
The boom ended. Revenues were only off 1%, but in an era where there is enough production, where rarity is not what it once was, there is not the same incentive to buy vinyl as a souvenir. As for buying multiple copies of the same album to boost the chart numbers of the act...the bloom is off the rose, you can only rip off the public so much. Vinyl will never die, but it appears to have peaked.
GEESE
The great white rock hope. But if you listen to the album... The singer has an affected voice and despite all the hosannas in the press, the word does not seem to be spreading. Indie rock is what oldster male writers are looking for. Youngsters? Not really.
POP CONTINUES TO DOMINATE
Ariana Grande? There's no there there.
SABRINA CARPENTER
The public did not believe that a former Disney star was now an edgy sexpot. She pushed the envelope to unbelievability.
BRAND NAMES STILL MATTER
Can you say "Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars"? It's nearly impossible to gain traction, so those who have it continue to maintain it, as long as they don't blow it with substandard product.
THE WEEKND
People still don't want to see musical stars in films. That's a passé concept, you've built an identity and then you want the audience to suspend disbelief and enjoy your two-dimensional acting in a substandard project?
BEYONCÉ'S TOUR
You can only go back to the well so many times. Sure, business was ultimately very good, but usually shows of this caliber are instant sellouts. High prices and a return too soon to the marketplace hurt this tour.
PRICES GOING DOWN
Yes, in some cases they have. Prices can go in both directions based on demand.
MORGAN WALLEN
The biggest star in country whose only competitor for U.S. domination is Taylor Swift. Yet, there's almost a news blackout amongst the liberal/left-leaning press.
COUNTRY
Is the new rock and roll and liked by many who swore off it in the past. Sure, there's a lot of pandering in the lyrics, but the acts have identities, the songs have hooks and...
OASIS
The story is not that they did huge business in the U.K., but that it carried over to North America. This is my point about the Eras Tour...people get excited by a big story and have to go to the show!
COLDPLAY
Sells out everywhere. Stadiums. Is it that they were the beneficiary of the last gasp of the old system, music television and terrestrial radio, or is their music just milquetoast enough to appeal to everyone?
SPOTIFY GAINS MARKET SHARE
That's where your friends are and there is innovation whereas its competitors are virtually moribund, music is an afterthought. But people still believe the company doesn't pay the artists, which of course is blatantly untrue. But someone's got to pay for the plight of the starving artist.
OSCARS GO TO YOUTUBE
And Grammys remain on CBS. Money isn't everything. There's no vision at the Grammys, however music does dominate YouTube and other streaming services...this power could be harnessed further, but...
NEW MUSIC IS A CLUB
And most people are not in it. And those in it are myopic. You've seen all the stories of the year's top 25 albums... Other than the writer, no one has heard all of them, never mind heard of them! The stars are losing market share and under them it's the Tower of Babel. New hit acts that appeal to many will lift all boats. But no one with any cash or power is willing to take the risk/put in the effort.
TIKTOK
Unpredictable. Can make the unknown a hit, but even more interesting, it can lift a hit of the past back into mainstream consciousness.
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