The recorded music industry has long been told to “be more like gaming,” a market 5X its size despite music’s greater cultural reach.

But the lesson isn’t to “gamify” music with points, leaderboards, or badges—it’s to make recorded music feel contextual, immersive and participatory.

Everything the music industry says it wants—superfan experiences, community, co-creation, fandom as identity—already exists in Fortnite.

Especially in light of the shutdown of @wcsb.bsky.social yesterday, it's important to know that college radio IS thriving and plays a vital role in many students' lives. Thanks to @emwhitenoise.bsky.social for this great piece that takes a closer look at why Gen Z is excited about college radio.

College radio stations are seeing a surge in student interest.

Stations that once struggled to fill airtime are now overflowing with student DJs. 

I spoke to 7 college radio stations across the U.S. to understand what is driving the revival:

emwhitenoise.substack.com/p/gen-zs-col...

Ever discovered a user generated playlist on Spotify and wondered who made it? It might have been one of Carly B’s 280 playlists with over 66,000 followers.

I interviewed Carly about how she started posting TikToks in her college dorm and turning it into a career as a music tastemaker:

An AI-generated “rock” band called The Velvet Sundown is going viral, with over 600,000 monthly listeners on Spotify.

And it’s not the only one.

The “Amazon Basics” of music is here.

But for the people who care about the experience of fandom, background noise isn’t enough.

Substack wasn't built for musicians. So why are so many great ones using it?

Music streaming has an echo chamber problem. But curators with distinctive taste and compelling visual stories are filling the void. I wrote about the next generation of independent music tastemakers: emwhitenoise.substack.com/p/the-next-g...

Wow 👀

One in six young men did not stream any music in the past week, according to @midiaresearch.bsky.social

Engagement with live music for men under 35 in the US has more than halved.

Meanwhile, X has grown by 32% amongst young men over the past year.

www.midiaresearch.com/blog/music-i...

LGBTQ federal workers say they're terrified they're about to be fired for their gender identity, sexual orientation, or past efforts to support other queer and trans employees—in other words, a second Lavender Scare.

Honored to have their trust with this story: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...

Making music more interactive can restore value to recorded music, not diminish it - but the ethics are key. @tpc.bsky.social nails it in this interview with @musically.com

More people want to interact WITH artists than replace them.

musically.com/2025/02/14/s...

TV screens have surpassed mobile as the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S. according to YouTube 🤯

You can’t post your way out of fascism

Authoritarians and tech CEOs now share the same goal: to keep us locked in an eternal doomscroll instead of organizing against them

🔗 www.404media.co/you-cant-pos...

I just stumbled upon this 7 year old notes app list of music industry predictions I don’t remember writing in 2017…how did I do?