What will the music marketing trends of 2026 be? Post-authenticity, clipping content, fun for fans – and much more, explains Something Something's Liam James Ward

Ep. 174: What's going to give you or your artist cut-through in 2026? At the start of last year we published one of our most popular podcasts of the year: when we asked Liam James Ward, CEO/co-founder of content strategy studio Something Something to look ahead into 2025’s upcoming marketing trends. Never let it be said that Music Ally Focus likes anything more than pushing against an open door, so when we had the opportunity to get Liam back on the show, we said yes. (It was a timely recording too, as Something Something were recently named Agency of the Year in Music Ally’s 2025 Music Marketing Awards.)Thus in this special episode of Music Ally Focus we’ll look beyond the bland and get clarity on the key changes and surprising developments in digital and social music marketing that emerged last year and what you can do in 2026, whether you’re a big budget high-flyer or a scrappy and ambitious DIY-er. Liam also digs into fan accounts, the atomisation of content, and crafting fun and sticky videos that stretch the idea of authenticity into exciting new places. We’ll talk about clipping, communities and crafting constellations of content, and we’ll talk about how marketers already instinctively know what strategy they should take for their artist and that artist’s audience.Something Something: https://www.somethingsomething.social/Contact Liam: [email protected]⁠ Music Ally Campaigns of the Year: https://musically.com/best-music-marketing-campaigns-of-the-year/