Drowned in Sound

Why Hope Over Fear Trumps No Music On A Dead Planet: DiS meets PVA’s Ella Harris

"My brothers are 20 and they're always like 'we are so cooked.' And I'm just like no we're not. There's hope but you just gotta believe, you gotta believe in something."
That quote accidentally captures Music Declares Emergency's strategic shift from awareness to action. After five years of "No Music On A Dead Planet" the Hope Over Fear campaign is building action hubs in grassroots venues - real physical spaces where fans, artists, and local communities organize around the climate crisis.
In this episode, PVA front-person and MDE Campaigns Manager Ella Harris explains how the campaign works, why music fandom is inherently empathetic practice that translates to organizing power, and how she balances making escapist art (PVA's intimate new album No More Like This) with building climate infrastructure.
The conversation tackles touring economics (trains cost £150, flights are just £30), why even festival headliners need day jobs, artists' fear of speaking out, and what £500 million in carbon offset funds could actually fix if redirected toward infrastructure.
This is about hope over fear. Real-life organizing over digital despair. Infrastructure over individual guilt.
This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Qobuz, the ethical music streaming platform. Visit drownedinsound.org/playlists to discover new music in Hi-Res lossless quality and start your 30-day free trial at qobuz.com/dis. 
Edited by: 
Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio
Chapters
00:00 – Introduction: No music on a dead planet
02:10 – Wearing multiple hats: PVA and Music Declares Emergency
05:00 – Music fandom as an empathetic practice
07:30 – From merch to movement
10:45 – Action hubs and the future of grassroots venues
15:30 – Touring economics, energy costs, and structural limits
19:00 – Artists, activism, and the fear of speaking out
24:30 – Nature, creativity, and why hope needs infrastructure
31:00 – What £500 million could fix in the music ecosystem
35:00 – AI, empathy, and what human music still does best
38:30 – Outro: Depth, not breadth
Continue the Conversation: 
Head to the Drowned in Sound community to chat about the topics in this episode.
Subscribe:
Get weekly essays, interviews, and insights from the Drowned in Sound newsletter - exploring music, culture, and resistance.
Links & Resources:
Music Declares Emergency - Learn more about the No Music On A Dead Planet movement, the Hope Over Fear campaign, and how artists, industry, and fans can get involved.
Music Venue Trust - Support and protect the UK’s grassroots venues
The Green Rider - Ideas for ‘green’ clauses for inclusion as part of your tech or hospitality riders.
Hope Over Fear Campaign - The campaign funding real-world action hubs in grassroots venues, focused on collective climate action and community organising.
No Music On A Dead Planet - The global artist-led movement connecting music, fandom, and climate justice.
About the host:
Sean Adams is the founder of Drowned in Sound, an independent music publication championing underground and independent artists since 2000. DiS explores how music fans discover their collective power through journalism, podcasts, and community organizing.
Related episodes:
- Tori Tsui: "How Music Fans Became Climate Activists" (Brian Eno, Billie Eilish, Fossil Fuel Treaty)
- Giles Bidder: "Why Festival Headliners Still Need Part-Time Jobs" (101 Part Time Jobs, touring economics)
- EarthSonic Live: Music, ecology, and collective action from Manchester Museum
About Ella Harris:
Ella Harris is the front-person and vocalist of London post-punk/electronic trio PVA, whose second album 'No More Like This' (produced by Kwake Bass) explores desire, devotion, and emotional indentation through trip-hop-influenced soundscapes. 
As Campaigns Manager for Music Declares Emergency, she leads the Hope Over Fear campaign, establishing action hubs in grassroots venues across the UK and Ireland. Previously, she founded Group Therapy Collective during lockdown, releasing two compilations featuring Yard Act, Mandy Indiana, and others to raise funds for Help Musicians, Black Minds Matter, and Music Venue Trust.
Guest links:
- PVA on Bandcamp: https://pvaareok.bandcamp.com
- PVA on Instagram: @pva_are_ok
- Ella Harris on Instagram: @lime.zoda

Over A Million Free Tickets: Discover The Ticket Bank's Mission

Many who otherwise couldn't afford a £40 show, let alone a £300 festival ticket, have accessed gigs because of a new initiative called The Ticket Bank.
In this episode, DiS founder Sean Adams meets Jack from Tickets for Good and The Ticket Bank to understand how they're redistributing access to live music. From seeing empty seats at the O2 to a partnership with Barnardo's, followed by offering tickets to NHS workers, teachers, and carers, Jack explains how the infrastructure works, who it serves, and why more artists and venues need to get involved.
The conversation covers touring economics, dynamic pricing myths, and the uncomfortable reality that an industry generating billions still prices out the people who need culture most. If you're singing about inequality, why would you only perform for those who can afford it?
It’s an inspiring chat about who builds community, how change happens, and who the next generation of artists might not be without projects like this.
This podcast is brought to you in partnership with Qobuz, the ethical music streaming platform. Visit drownedinsound.org/playlists to discover new music in Hi-Res lossless quality and start your 30-day free trial at qobuz.com/dis. 
This week's companion playlist features calm, ambient music from the community's picks of the best post-classical, drone, and ambient records. Two hours of peaceful listening to help you through the fog. 
Edited by: 
Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio
Get Involved
For artists, promoters, managers, venues: Contact Jack directly to discuss partnerships Email: jack@theticketbank.org 
For eligible audiences: Register via Tickets for Good or the Ticket Bank. New events added daily around 9am.
Tickets for Good: https://ticketsforgood.co.uk
Ticket Bank: https://theticketbank.org
For everyone else:
Share this episode with musicians, venues, and local promoters
Tag artists in the comments and ask if they've heard of the Ticket Bank
Send to your MP or local council about arts access
If you know someone who might qualify, subtly share the links
Continue the Conversation
Join the Drowned in Sound community to discuss this episode http://community.drownedinsound.com 
Subscribe to the Drowned in Sound newsletter for weekly essays, interviews, and insights exploring music, culture, and collective power. http://drownedinsound.org 
Links & Resources
Tickets for Good: https://ticketsforgood.co.uk 
Ticket Bank: https://theticketbank.org 
Music Venue Trust: https://www.musicvenuetrust.com
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction: Why access to live music matters
01:20 - Empty seats at the O2: The origins of Tickets for Good
05:10 - Cost-of-living tickets and breaking industry stigma
07:00 - From Tickets for Good to the Ticket Bank
12:00 - How eligibility and verification work
16:00 - Touring economics and the dynamic pricing myth
18:15 - How artists, promoters, and managers can help
22:15 - Mental health, social prescribing, and cultural value
24:45 - What £500 million could fix
27:15 - Grassroots venues and inspiring the next generation
31:00 - How to register, donate tickets, or get involved
33:30 - Outro: Your mission

From 500 Podcasts to Radio 1: DiS meets 101 Part Time Jobs (Part 2)

Picking up where Part 1 left off, DiS returns to its conversation with Giles Bidder. Not to talk about how musicians survive, but about how stories travel, how listeners connect and what it really takes to build a music podcast in 2026.
In this second instalment, Sean Adams turns the lens on the medium itself (yes, we’ve gone meta). Drawing on nearly 600 episodes of 101 Part Time Jobs, Giles reflects on the craft of interviewing, the ethics of editing, and why the best conversations often need space to breathe. This is less about hustle and more about care: how to hold people well, how to listen properly, and how to build trust over time.
The conversation ranges from standout episodes and “slow-burn” storytelling to what it feels like to make work that actually helps people navigate their lives. Giles speaks openly about bad bosses, fear-based workplaces, and the quiet anger that fuels his show (as well as the small, human moments that make it worthwhile).
A love for radio runs through this episode: Giles describes producing Shaun Keaveny’s Community Garden Radio as a lesson in warmth, humour, and emotional intelligence on air. From there, the pair broaden out into why podcasts have become such a powerful space for connection, especially for people stuck in boring jobs, long commutes, or lonely routines.
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.
Edited by: 
Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio
Chapters
00:00 - Intro01:30 - Standout episodes and “slow-burn” editing03:20 - When to cut vs when to let a story breathe05:10 - What makes a “good” episode in hindsight07:00 - Work gaffs, embarrassment, and shared vulnerability12:00 - Bad bosses, anger, and fear-based workplaces14:00 - Why people are quietly quitting18:00 - Why podcasts work on boring journeys21:00 - Community Garden Radio and the art of warmth22:30 - What great broadcasting feels like24:00 - Power, responsibility, and attention25:30 - Why trust matters more than reach27:00 - Outro
Continue the Conversation: 
Head to the Drowned in Sound community to chat about the topics in this episode.
Subscribe:
Get weekly essays, interviews, and insights from the Drowned in Sound newsletter - exploring music, culture, and resistance.
From scout-hut gigs to the economics of touring, DiS sits down with Giles Bidder - host of 101 Part Time Jobs for an unsentimental look at how creative lives are actually sustained today.
In this first instalment, Sean Adams talks to one of the UK’s most quietly compelling broadcasters about the hidden labour behind music culture. Over nearly 600 episodes, Bidder has built one of the most humane music podcasts around, asking artists, writers, and comedians not about their success but about the jobs they’ve done to survive.
Giles explains how 101 Part Time Jobs emerged as both portfolio and refuge: a way to make sense of a patchwork career, rediscover belonging, and document how people navigate a system that rarely works in their favour. Along the way, the conversation takes in touring economics, merch, sync, class, and why even bands who play the Roundhouse still need “normal jobs.
What emerges is a stark but generous thesis: music is socially priceless and economically precarious. Until that gap closes, culture will continue to run on grit, goodwill, and vast amounts of invisible labour.
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 - Intro 
01:26 - Sitting in the “other chair”: Giles as guest, not host
04:05 - Ska/punk origins, micro-prejudices, and how scenes teach you
07:45 - Why 101 Part Time Jobs began: Universal Credit, lockdown, stability
08:55 - Human curation and introducing unknown artists
11:25 - The myth of “making it”: Roundhouse bands with day jobs
13:55 - Why meaningful art can still leave artists broke
16:10 - Music is priceless but paid in grains of pennies
18:20 - Gilla Band, Lambrini Girls, and invisible cultural impact
19:25 - Class, rent, and the radical idea of simply covering your life
20:15 - Why customer-facing jobs matter (merch, coffee shops, respect)
23:55 - Hard work, timing, and opportunity
25:20 - Standout episodes and the “slow-burn” edit
29:10 - Bad bosses, anger, and fear-based workplaces
31:55 - Power, responsibility, and attention in podcasting
44:07 - The importance of having your own project and taking the time
46:55 - Outro
Continue the Conversation: 
Head to the Drowned in Sound community to chat about the topics in this episode.
Subscribe:
Get weekly essays, interviews, and insights from the Drowned in Sound newsletter - exploring music, culture, and resistance.
Links & Resources:
101 Part Time Jobs (Giles Bidder) 
Community Garden Radio (Shaun Keaveny) 
Music Venue Trust - protecting grassroots venues 
Gilla Band 
Lambrini Girls 
Soho Radio
Reading Festival
 

Why Some Festival Headliners Still Need Part-Time Jobs (Part 1)

From scout-hut gigs to the economics of touring, DiS sits down with Giles Bidder - host of 101 Part Time Jobs for an unsentimental look at how creative lives are actually sustained today.
In this first instalment, Sean Adams talks to one of the UK’s most quietly compelling broadcasters about the hidden labour behind music culture. Over nearly 600 episodes, Bidder has built one of the most humane music podcasts around, asking artists, writers, and comedians not about their success but about the jobs they’ve done to survive.
Giles explains how 101 Part Time Jobs emerged as both portfolio and refuge: a way to make sense of a patchwork career, rediscover belonging, and document how people navigate a system that rarely works in their favour. Along the way, the conversation takes in touring economics, merch, sync, class, and why even bands who play the Roundhouse still need “normal jobs.”
What emerges is a stark but generous thesis: music is socially priceless and economically precarious. Until that gap closes, culture will continue to run on grit, goodwill, and vast amounts of invisible labour.
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.
Edited by: 
Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio
Chapters
00:00 - Intro 
01:26 - Sitting in the “other chair”: Giles as guest, not host
04:05 - Ska/punk origins, micro-prejudices, and how scenes teach you
07:45 - Why 101 Part Time Jobs began: Universal Credit, lockdown, stability
08:55 - Human curation and introducing unknown artists
11:25 - The myth of “making it”: Roundhouse bands with day jobs
13:55 - Why meaningful art can still leave artists broke
16:10 - Music is priceless but paid in grains of pennies
18:20 - Gilla Band, Lambrini Girls, and invisible cultural impact
19:25 - Class, rent, and the radical idea of simply covering your life
20:15 - Why customer-facing jobs matter (merch, coffee shops, respect)
23:55 - Hard work, timing, and opportunity
25:20 - Standout episodes and the “slow-burn” edit
29:10 - Bad bosses, anger, and fear-based workplaces
31:55 - Power, responsibility, and attention in podcasting
Continue the Conversation: 
Head to the Drowned in Sound community to chat about the topics in this episode.
Subscribe:
Get weekly essays, interviews, and insights from the Drowned in Sound newsletter - exploring music, culture, and resistance.
Links & Resources
101 Part Time Jobs (Giles Bidder) 
Community Garden Radio (Shaun Keaveny) 
Music Venue Trust - protecting grassroots venues 
Gilla Band 
Lambrini Girls 
Soho Radio
Reading Festival

Kelly Lee Owens: Record Shops, Raves, and Rebuilding Music From the Ground Up

Fresh from touring stadiums with Depeche Mode, DiS meets electronic music pioneer to discuss her past, the present, and the future of music.
This is part of Drowned in Sound’s 25th anniversary series in which Sean Adams continues the anniversary series by sits down with some of our favourite acts of the past quarter century. Kelly Lee Owens is very much one of those artists, who has featured in DiS year end lists and awards and playlists since releasing her debut EP.
The episode starts on the education that comes from working in record shops and becomes a wide-ranging conversation about how music communities form, fracture, and sometimes regenerate. Moving across North Wales to London basements, from pressing white labels by hand to playing for 75,000 people with Depeche Mode, Kelly Lee Owens traces a path through all corners of music: the shops, venues, teachers, collectives, community centres, and accidental mentors that shaped her, her music, and her career.
Sean and Kelly chat about their working class roots, the discipline of DJing as storytelling, and the economics of grassroots music. Kelly Lee Owens reflects on why she now deliberately plays shows in places artists rarely go, why she sees music as a form of healing as much as entertainment and why community matters more than scale.
If there’s a thread running through it all…it’s this: music isn’t a product or a pipeline. It’s a relationship. And like any relationship, it needs time, space, and care to survive.
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.
Edited by: 
Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
02:00 - Record shops as education and community
05:05 - Obsession, discovery, and how taste is formed
10:00 - The early 2010s shift: risk, hedonism, and electronic culture
13:05 - DIY culture, SoundCloud, and pressing your own records
15:00 - Human curation vs automation and playlists
22:10 - Playing huge rooms: Depeche Mode, confidence, and scale
26:05 - Returning to small places: community shows and access
29:00 - Grassroots collapse, class, and structural inequality
32:10 - What £500 million could fix in music culture
42:05 - Music as healing, frequency, and emotional space
48:25 - The future: rebuilding value, community, and care
50:15 - Outro
Continue the Conversation: 
Head to the Drowned in Sound community to chat about the topics in this episode.
Subscribe:
Get weekly essays, interviews, and insights from the Drowned in Sound newsletter - exploring music, culture, and resistance.
Links & Resources:
Music Venue Trust — protecting grassroots venueshttps://www.musicvenuetrust.com
David Byrne — How Music Workshttps://davidbyrne.com/books/how-music-works
Fabric London — venue history and cultural importancehttps://www.fabriclondon.com
Piccadilly Records (Manchester)https://www.piccadillyrecords.com
Pure Groove Records (London)https://puregroove.co.uk
Kelly Lee Owenshttps://kellyleeowens.com
Stop Making Sense — Talking Headshttps://www.talkingheadsofficial.com
Cocteau Twinshttps://cocteautwins.com
The Knife — Silent Shouthttps://theknife.net
Warehouse Project (Manchester)https://www.thewarehouseproject.com
Neuadd Ogwen / Bethesda community venuehttps://neuaddogwen.com

Our 2026 predictions: New Acts, Big comebacks, Gig ticket laws, and more

So what will 2026 sound like?
In this episode, Drowned in Sound founder Sean Adams and journalist Emma Wilkes look into their crystal balls (and the release schedules). 
Tips on which artists should break through and the corporate barriers they’ll need to navigate.
Beyond tipping season, we explore the strange absence of shared musical moments, the growing anxiety around AI-generated music, the slow unravelling of trust in big tech platforms, and whether changes to ticketing, touring, and grassroots funding might start to rebalance power (and money) back towards scenes.
There are also predictions - some cautious, some hopeful, some deliberately ridiculous. This episode tries to map the forces underneath the surface…the things that will shape what we hear, how we find it, and what it means to care about music in the first place.
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.
Edited by: 
Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction: What will music be like in 2026?02:30 - New bands, tipping season, and who breaks through next06:50 - Scenes, genres, and the collapse of old categories12:00 - Cities as culture: Leeds, Liverpool, Brighton, Beirut16:40 - Resilience, mental health, and sustaining music ecosystems20:40 - Grassroots levies, touring economics, and venue survival26:00 - Ticketing, regulation, and the slow response to abuse28:20 - AI, platforms, and the erosion of trust30:30 - Predictions: returns, collaborations, and surprise records35:20 - Tech futures, headphones, and augmented concerts38:50 - Hope, uncertainty, and what comes next
Continue the Conversation: 
Head to the Drowned in Sound community to chat about the topics in this episode.
Subscribe:
Get weekly essays, interviews, and insights from the Drowned in Sound newsletter - exploring music, culture, and resistance.
Links & Resources:
FanFair Alliance - ticketing transparency and anti-touting campaigning
Music Venue Trust - grassroots venue support and levy campaigning
UK Government - ticket resale reform & consultation
Action Fraud -  advice on ticket scams and resale fraud 
Subvert - artist / label-owned music platform
Bandcamp - direct-to-fan model and editorial writing
The Jump - Shirley Manson's podcast
Vespertine - Björk's podcast

Flying Rivers, Slipknot Swifts & Musical Frogs: Take This Podcast For A Walk In Nature

Season 5, Episode 1: What if swifts sound like Slipknot? What are flying rivers? And how do you give water a voice? This New Year special takes you backstage at EarthSonic Live, where over 3,000 people gathered at Manchester Museum to explore how music and nature sounds can help us reconnect with the planet and drive real climate action.
Recorded across a single extraordinary day in November 2025, this episode captures conversations with conservationists protecting endangered species, climate activists working with Brian Eno and Billie Eilish, and Brazilian artists who travelled from Belém where the performed at COP30.
From sampling frogs in the museum's Vivarium with Japanese composer Hinako Omori to learning about the UK's temperate rainforests (yes, really!), EarthSonic Live had it all.
In the first episode of 2026, you'll hear from RSPB conservationists Annabel Rushton and Roshni Parmar-Hill about why swifts are disappearing and what red squirrels tell us about biodiversity loss. Climate activist Tori Tsui shares how music became central to her campaigning. Hannah Overton from Warp Records explains more about the event.
And we meet four members of FLOW, female artists from three continents to reflect on their journey to Belém for COP30, where they turned droughts, floods, and flying rivers into hip-hop, spoken word, and song.
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 drownedinsound.org/playlists to discover new music in rich Hi-Res lossless quality and start your 30-day free trial of Qobuz at qobuz.com/dis.
Continue the Conversation: Join the discussion on the Drowned in Sound forums and share your thoughts on music, nature, and climate action.
Subscribe: Get the Drowned in Sound newsletter for weekly insights into music, culture, and building a fairer industry.
Links & Resources:
Tori Tsui - Climate activist and author of "It's Not Just You: How to Navigate Eco-Anxiety and the Climate Crisis"
EarthSonic Live - Event details and future dates
Takkuuk - Inside Bicep's Arctic Masterpiece (DiS article)
Full Tori Tsui Interview - Climate justice and music with Brian Eno & Billie Eilish
RSPB - Conservation and volunteering opportunities
Wildhoarse Water - RSPB nature reserve in the Lake District with UK temperate rainforest
In Place of War - Arts organization for social change
Manchester Museum Vivarium - Home to the frogs sampled during workshops
Sohini Alam - British-Bangladeshi composer and vocalist
Keila - Brazilian singer from Gang do Eletro, FLOW artist
Bebé Salvego - Brazilian jazz vocalist, FLOW artist
Jaloo - Brazilian gender-fluid artist and producer, FLOW artist
Hinako Omori - Japanese artist and composer
Wellcome Trust - Event partner
Arts Council England - Event partner
Ableton - Event partner and workshop provider
About the Host:
Sean Adams is the founder of Drowned in Sound, an independent music publication championing underground and independent artists since 2000. Through the DiS podcast, newsletter, and community, Sean explores how to build a fairer, more sustainable music industry while supporting the artists and fans who make it meaningful.
This episode was completely self-produced by Sean Adams, recorded on location at Manchester Museum. Thanks to Shure for providing the mics to record this special episode.

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

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.
Edited by: 
Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio
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
Continue the Conversation: 
Head to the Drowned in Sound community to chat about the topics in this episode.
Subscribe:
Get weekly essays, interviews, and insights from the Drowned in Sound newsletter - exploring music, culture, and resistance.
Links & Resources:
Cross Platform Success Using Social Platforms to Build Audience and Fandom
MIDiA Research
Hanna Kahlert – MIDiA Research
Spotify Loud & Clear Report
Music Publishers Begin Spotify Podcast Takedowns (Variety)

Spotify Boycotts, Solidarity, and Jet2 Rage: Our Top 3 Moments of 2025

What were the big music news stories of the year? In part 1 we charted the pressures building across music’s foundations and now Part 2 turns to the systems that decide who gets paid, who gets heard, and who gets left behind.
Drowned in Sound’s founder Sean Adams and music journalist Emma Wilkes count down stories #3, #2 and #1 -  from the strange feeling that there wasn’t really a song of the summer at all, to solidarity protest movements filled with eloquent musicians, and the growing wave of artists turning their backs on Spotify.
They examine how streaming payouts continue to shrink for artists, even as platforms post record profits public conversations around alternatives, and ethics (war tech?! ICE ads?! Joe Rogan?!) turned into artist boycotts. 
The biggest music stories share one consistent theme: who holds the power, and who gets to challenge it?
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.
Edited by: 
Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
02:00 - Story #3: Was there a ‘song of the summer?
01:10 - Rage, memes, and culture reflecting the moment
03:42 - Sofia Isella and the power of feminine rage
06:20 - Nova Twins, activism, and grassroots credibility
08:32 - Mannequin Pussy and what rock should stand for
09:29 - Story #2 begins: protest movements in music
11:02 - Boycotts, divestment, and corporate accountability
13:02 - Solidarity, Ireland, Palestine, and shared histories
16:12 - Culture as a battleground
29:26 - Story #1 begins: the Spotify exodus
32:13 - Streaming power, ethics, and alternatives
36:16 - Hope, resistance, and building something better
42:22 - Outro
Continue the Conversation:
Head to the Drowned in Sound community to chat about the topics in this episode.
Subscribe:
Get weekly essays, interviews, and insights from the Drowned in Sound newsletter - exploring music, culture, and resistance.
Links & Resources:
Switched On Pop - Why the Song of the Summer Is Disappearing
No Music for Genocide – Artist Boycott Campaign
NME – Paramore & Hayley Williams Join No Music for Genocide
Resident Advisor Podcast – Sama’ Abdulhadi
Together for Palestine – Yara Eid Concert
Spotify Loud & Clear Report
Music Publishers Begin Spotify Podcast Takedowns (Variety)
Spotify Payola Lawsuit Explained (Music Business Worldwide)
Cut Off the Spigot – Streaming Economics Campaign
Mozilla Foundation – The Post-Naive Internet Era

The Stories of 2025 - Part 1: Megagigs, Grassroots, and AI slop

What were the biggest stories in music this year?  No, not the releases or the hype cycles but the forces reshaping how music is made, played, toured, and valued.
In Part 1 of Drowned in Sound’s Stories of the Year, Sean Adams and Emma Wilkes count down stories #5 and #4, starting with a contradiction that defined 2025: record-breaking mega-gigs and billion-pound industry headlines on one side, and a grassroots ecosystem under existential pressure on the other.
They talk through the “mega gig” (stadium shows, park festivals, corporate-backed cultural events) and also ask what their success is hiding. Taylor Swift-level touring power continues to drive economic growth but artists at every other level are cancelling tours. What is the purpose of growth if the foundations are cracking?
From there, the conversation turns to AI. A now present-day force that is reshaping music. This is the year artificial intelligence stopped being theoretical and started demanding political, legal, and cultural responses.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the countdown.
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.
Edited by: 
Josh Craggs at Dubble Audio
Chapters
00:00 - Introduction
01:15 - Story #5 begins: mega gigs vs grassroots
02:10 - What defines a “mega gig” now?
04:11 - £8bn industry headlines vs lived reality
06:26 - Taylor Swift, scale, and monopoly economics
07:18 - Employment figures and the invisible labour of music
08:43 - Grassroots venues as cultural homes
09:32 - Inequality, wealth concentration, and responsibility
13:22 - How the industry decides who gets tipped
16:01 - Why discovery systems feel broken
19:30 - Story #4 begins: artificial intelligence enters music
23:19 - Consent, transparency, and “human-made” music
28:30 - Power, control, and social isolation
35:30 - Outro
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Links & Resources:
UK Music – This Is Music Report (Industry Growth Context)
Competition & Markets Authority – Secondary Ticketing Investigations
BBC – Ticket Scams and Secondary Resale Issues
Fan-Led Review of Music – UK Parliament
Music Fans Voice – Fan Campaigning for Fair Ticketing
Independent Venue Community
Music Venue Trust
Youth Music – Rescue the Roots Campaign
AI-Generated Music Appearing on Artist Profiles 
Oneohtrix Point Never is searching for soul in the slop (Dazed)
UK Music on AI Training Data and Copyright