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The Normalization of Exploitation
In an era when public criticism tends to be both loud and fleeting, the music industry's bad actors simply wait for the outrage to fade—and resignation…
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Shawn Reynaldo
Sónar's Founders Sold Out—and Now They're Out of the Festival Entirely
Adding to an already tumultuous year, the long-running Barcelona event is suddenly getting new leadership—and highlighting the risks of culture engaging…
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Shawn Reynaldo
Main Character Music Journalism
With publications, journalists and content creators all catering to social media, the question of who is doing the talking is starting to become just as…
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Shawn Reynaldo
Five Little Labels That More People Should Know
With labels—especially small ones—increasingly being omitted from the music conversation, First Floor highlights five imprints whose excellent work…
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Shawn Reynaldo
Attacking Artists Is Easy, but Attacking Industry Norms Might Actually Make a Difference
A three-part proposal to increase the effectiveness of boycott movements within electronic music.
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Shawn Reynaldo
Electronic Music Has a Scab Problem
With more and more artists joining boycott movements, how do we reckon with those who instead choose to actively undercut their peers?
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Shawn Reynaldo
Critics Have Fallen Out of Love with Dance Music
In a moment where the business of dance music is undeniably booming, there appears to be very little enthusiasm for the dancefloor-focused sounds being…
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Shawn Reynaldo
Compilations Are Getting Bigger and Bigger
In an increasingly digital music landscape where streaming and social media have an outsized influence, tracklists are swelling in size, but are people…
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Shawn Reynaldo
Everyone Says They Want Independent Music Culture, but Is Anyone Willing to Pay for It?
With even well established artists and organizations now turning to the public for financial support, it's becoming hard to imagine a viable future for…
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Shawn Reynaldo
Artists Can't Fix the Music Industry on Their Own
With Deerhoof's decision to remove their music from Spotify currently doing the discourse rounds, it's worth acknowledging the limits of what one…
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Shawn Reynaldo
Music Discourse Has Migrated to Instagram
With social media posts promoting content often attracting more attention than the content itself, what is the "real" work of a modern-day music…
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Shawn Reynaldo
Music Journalism Desperately Needs More Muckrakers
In the face of unceasing corporate consolidation and the normalization of extractive business practices, the traditional music press shows little…
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Shawn Reynaldo
© 2025 Shawn Reynaldo
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