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The Majors Have Flipped on AI—Get Ready for a New Era of “Fan Empowerment,” “Statistical Authorship” and Corporate Consolidation
With Universal and Warner Cutting Deals with Udio, Suno, KLAY and Stability AI, the musical landscape is about to be upended, though the majors remain…
Dec 2
•
Frankie Pizá
38
4
No One Is Going to Defend Boiler Room
After a year of unceasing protests and a looming round of substantial layoffs, the streaming giant appears to be in real trouble—and has remarkably few…
Nov 25
•
Shawn Reynaldo
65
10
Superstruct Is Playing the Victim
Following months of virtual silence, the UK-based festival giant has begun to loudly push back against its critics, denying their claims while…
Nov 11
•
Shawn Reynaldo
34
3
Bandcamp Was Supposed to Be Dead by Now
After the company's sale to Songtradr triggered a tidal wave of bad press and bad vibes, the platform has quietly continued to do its own thing, and…
Nov 4
•
Shawn Reynaldo
59
7
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…
Oct 21
•
Shawn Reynaldo
26
1
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…
Oct 13
•
Shawn Reynaldo
61
10
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…
Sep 2
•
Shawn Reynaldo
52
4
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…
Aug 26
•
Shawn Reynaldo
54
5
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.
Aug 19
•
Shawn Reynaldo
33
4
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?
Aug 5
•
Shawn Reynaldo
70
9
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…
Jul 29
•
Shawn Reynaldo
41
6
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…
Jul 22
•
Shawn Reynaldo
28
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