Music's Biggest Problems

Welcome, artists & builders.

Today is all about the biggest challenges we face in the music industry, real or perceived. Let’s get into it.

Inside Issue #39

💡 The 39 biggest problems in music
🛠️ The current pre-sale system fails artists
🤔 Music’s 3 possible futures

Music’s Biggest Problems

Problems are opportunities and the music industry has plenty.

So, I asked 35,000+ people “what’s the biggest problem to solve in music?”.

Here are the most common answers (and how I view it):

1. Music has been devalued

2. Streaming/Spotify

3. Artists don’t know who their fans are

4. Oversaturation of music—too much noise

5. Lack of real artist development & investment

6. The industry prioritizes numbers over artistry

7. Everyone chasing virality instead of real growth

8. AI training on copyrighted material w/o permission

9. Payment rails for AI-generated derivative works

10. The music royalty blackbox

11. Stan culture & its toxicity

12. Platform dependence

13. Death of traditional A&R

14. The rising cost of touring

15. Nothing works

16. Pay structures that don’t reward artists equitably

17. Shrinking revenue support for middle-class artists

18. No standardized metadata creating a global data mess

19. Decline in music quality, songwriting & production craft

20. Too much gatekeeping

21. Too few gatekeepers (& not enough gates)

22. Algorithms discouraging exploration

23. Algorithms dictating success

24. No human curation

25. Too many middlemen

26. Too many platforms to navigate

27. Constant need for self-promotion

28. Lack of knowledge resources for artists

29. A misunderstanding of how to build real businesses

30. Misaligned incentives between artists, platforms, labels, and fans

31. Grassroots music venues closing, reducing opportunities for emerging talent

32. Overcomplexity & opacity block new entrants from creating or innovating

33. Lack of emphasis on storytelling, community, and connection

34. Lack of new models that meaningfully monetize fandom

35. Mental health challenges for artists and teams

36. No incentives for fans to go deeper

37. New artist discovery is broken

38. Erosion of music education

39. Streaming fraud

Some great ones here. Others I reject.

But here's the thing:

Every problem is an opportunity.

That’s what’s beautiful. We're never done. There will always be things to make better.

The music industry was left for dead 20 years ago & along came streaming to bring it back to new heights. Now that, the internet & more have caused a new set of problems that we now have the OPPORTUNITY to improve upon.

Each era brings a new set of challenges that feel impossible to solve—until someone does.

Almost every day I talk to a founder tackling these challenges, or an artist creating in new ways, or someone in the industry rethinking whats possible.

It’s inspiring.

Because we all know we’re in the midst of a major shift in music.

It’s up to the artists & builders solving these problems—and creating new opportunities we’ve yet to imagine—to shape a better future.

I promise you there’s far more good than bad.
Tomorrow will be better than today.
We just have to build it.

Just don’t forget about the fans

Almost no one mentioned the fan experience. And if history shows us anything, transformational shifts in music follow what’s best for the consumer—not the artist.

Most solutions that aim only to solve artist problems without also considering fan’s want are bound to fail.

The last decade pursued the laid-back listener, as that was the biggest opportunity. Now, the focus is the lean-in experience.

So, what do fans want?

More personalized experiences. To be rewarded. Recognized. To self-express.

They want interactivity.
Co-creation.
Authenticity.
Storytelling.

Connection to artists.
Connection to each other.

They want to be part of something.

The highest-leverage opportunities in music?

1. Creating the lean-in fan experience for discovery, connection and community—that is not siloed to a single artist.

2. Finally understanding artists are small businesses and delivering them the tools, knowledge & teams to run more sustainable careers.

Solve these, and solve many of the problems above.

- Rob

PS: Question for you – who are the artists & builders you see building this future? I’ll share the best in an upcoming newsletter.

📚️ My 3 Favorite Reads This Week

1. The current pre-sale system fails most artists & fans (and how Oasis & Lana Del Rey are blueprinting a new way), by Rob Sealy for IQ-Mag

2. Music’s 3 Futures - A Manifesto for an artist-centric music business, by Keith Jopling

3. 3 Lessons from Successful Campaigns, by Dylan Brewer / Fraudulent (the link was broken in the last edition, so I’m adding back here)