The Stories of 2025 - Part 1: Megagigs, Grassroots, and AI slop
Drowned in Sound
AI-Generated Acts and Billboard Impact
They discuss AI-generated bands charting, Velvet Sundown's exposure, and listener curiosity driving algorithmic plays.
What were the biggest stories in music this year? No, not the releases or the hype cycles but the forces reshaping how music is made, played, toured, and valued.
In Part 1 of Drowned in Sound’s Stories of the Year, Sean Adams and Emma Wilkes count down stories #5 and #4, starting with a contradiction that defined 2025: record-breaking mega-gigs and billion-pound industry headlines on one side, and a grassroots ecosystem under existential pressure on the other.
They talk through the “mega gig” (stadium shows, park festivals, corporate-backed cultural events) and also ask what their success is hiding. Taylor Swift-level touring power continues to drive economic growth but artists at every other level are cancelling tours. What is the purpose of growth if the foundations are cracking?
From there, the conversation turns to AI. A now present-day force that is reshaping music. This is the year artificial intelligence stopped being theoretical and started demanding political, legal, and cultural responses.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the countdown.
The Drowned in Sound podcast is presented in partnership with Qobuz, the pioneering high-quality music streaming and download platform for music enthusiasts and audiophiles. Each week we curate playlists on Qobuz, featuring our favourite records, artists, and the themes we explore on the show.
Visit https://drownedinsound.org/playlists/ to discover new music in rich Hi-Res lossless quality and start your 30-day free trial of Qobuz at https://qobuz.com/dis.
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:15 - Story #5 begins: mega gigs vs grassroots
02:10 - What defines a “mega gig” now?
04:11 - £8bn industry headlines vs lived reality
06:26 - Taylor Swift, scale, and monopoly economics
07:18 - Employment figures and the invisible labour of music
08:43 - Grassroots venues as cultural homes
09:32 - Inequality, wealth concentration, and responsibility
13:22 - How the industry decides who gets tipped
16:01 - Why discovery systems feel broken
19:30 - Story #4 begins: artificial intelligence enters music
23:19 - Consent, transparency, and “human-made” music
28:30 - Power, control, and social isolation
35:30 - Outro
Continue the Conversation:
Head to the Drowned in Sound community to chat about the topics in this episode.
Subscribe:
Get weekly essays, interviews, and insights from the Drowned in Sound newsletter - exploring music, culture, and resistance.
Links & Resources:
- UK Music – This Is Music Report (Industry Growth Context)
- Competition & Markets Authority – Secondary Ticketing Investigations
- BBC – Ticket Scams and Secondary Resale Issues
- Fan-Led Review of Music – UK Parliament
- Music Fans Voice – Fan Campaigning for Fair Ticketing
- Independent Venue Community
- Music Venue Trust
- Youth Music – Rescue the Roots Campaign
- AI-Generated Music Appearing on Artist Profiles
- Oneohtrix Point Never is searching for soul in the slop (Dazed)
- UK Music on AI Training Data and Copyright
The AI-powered Podcast Player
