The music media landscape is constantly shifting, with outlets scrambling for relevance in a world where algorithms dictate taste and virality trumps artistic merit. While AI transforms everything from newsrooms to artist blurbs and endless music libraries sit at our fingertips, independent journalism faces existential challenges.
What might substantive music criticism look like today? Beyond simplistic ratings and quick reactions dominating online platforms, we'll explore criticism that examines how music shapes cultural identity and politics, or traces artistic movements through their societal contexts. Deeper analysis is still possible—the question is whether audiences still exist for this engagement.
We'll examine how critics can transcend the reductive approach. How might journalists illuminate relationships between artists, scenes and society? Can we build sustainable models for music media that cultivate audiences who value insight over immediacy? Join this panel of music journalists as they dissect the future of music media – where the conversation about the art might be as vital as the algorithms.
Speakers:
- Jonathan Bunce, journalist, Artistic / Executive Director of Wavelength Music
- Ben Tibbits, Wonderland
- Irina Shtreis, Freelance music critic
- Neit-Eerik Nestor, Music & Culture journalist at ERR Kultuuriportaal
Moderator:
- Anastasia Connor, Founder of Noise Unit PR