Can music still cut through in 2026? DiS meets a leading researcher

Dec 27, 2025

Hanna Kahlert, a researcher at MIDiA Research, delves into the evolving landscape of musicians in a creator-driven economy. She shares insights on how artists face increasing pressures akin to YouTubers, struggling with content creation and monetization. Hanna introduces the concepts of 'lean back' and 'lean through' fandom, emphasizing the disconnect between engagement metrics and actual income. They discuss the challenges of copyright, the decline of community scenes, and the impact of AI on music’s future, advocating for a revival of participatory culture and grassroots support.

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INSIGHT

Musicians Are Now Creator-Workers

Independent musicians now behave like other online creators and face similar time and discovery pressures.
The rise of label-services and creator-agency models reflects this creator-style working life.

ADVICE

Shift Workload Off Artists

Artists should push for industry structures that reduce content time-sinks so they can make music.
Labels and managers must offer practical services (editing, audience management) to ease creators' workload.

INSIGHT

Lean Back, In, And Through

Listening splits into lean back (passive), lean in (light engagement) and a missing middle: lean through (deep, actionable fandom).
Likes and views often fail to translate into real-world support or ticket sales.

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What does it actually mean to be a musician in an economy built for creators and why does it feel like the workload keeps growing while the rewards shrink?

In this episode of the Drowned in Sound Podcast, Sean Adams is joined by Hanna Kahlert from MIDiA Research, whose work sits at the intersection of music, platforms, and the wider creator economy. Drawing on recent research into artists’ working lives, they explore why musicians increasingly face the same pressures as YouTubers and streamers without a lot of the same tools, protections, or paths to sustainability.

They talk about the time sink of constant content creation, the distortion of success metrics, and how discovery has become both easier and more exhausting than ever. This includes: “lean back” listening, “lean through” fandom whilst the conversation reframes what engagement really looks like and why likes, views, and viral moments so often fail to translate into income or longevity.

As streaming platforms push endless discovery and passive consumption, the duo ask hard questions about value, ownership, and what gets lost when music is treated as content and not an integral part of culture.

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 - Why musicians are being reframed as “creators”

05:20 - The problem with monetisation, takedowns, and copyright

12:10 - Lean back, lean in, and what “lean through” really means

20:00 - Discovery, algorithms, and the illusion of reach

28:00 - Are superfans real - and what actually makes a fan?

36:10 - Scenes, culture, and what’s been lost in platformisation

44:30 - AI, ownership, and the coming copyright reckoning

52:30 - The “dark forest” internet and the return of small spaces

59:30 - What the next 25 years of music might look like

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