EPISODE · Jun 12, 2026 · 3H 47M
The Music Industry
from Industry · host Zain Kahn
The music industry has been pronounced dead six times — by the player piano, radio, the cassette, Napster, streaming, and now AI — and it came back from the first five funerals richer than before. This episode tells the whole 120-year story and takes the machine apart: why labels are closer to banks than record stores, why the singers were never the ones making the money, and why the only artists who ever beat the system did it with ownership, not talent. The sixth funeral is in session as we publish.
What this episode covers
The music industry has been pronounced dead six times — by the player piano, radio, the cassette, Napster, streaming, and now AI — and it came back from the first five funerals richer than before. This episode tells the whole 120-year story and takes the machine apart: why labels are closer to banks than record stores, why the singers were never the ones making the money, and why the only artists who ever beat the system did it with ownership, not talent. The sixth funeral is in session as we publish.
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The Music Industry
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