Billboard Power 100 Honorees 2026 on Music Industry Frustrations

“I am seeing a decided lack of artist development and too much reliance on data-led signings, with everyone fishing in the same pond for talent.”

“We built this industry on belief — not algorithms, not data points, but on someone hearing something raw and unfinished and saying, ‘Yes, I hear it too, let’s build this together.’ Now we’ve traded partnerships for pipelines. We chase streams instead of careers, moments instead of catalogs. The math tells us to flood the market: more releases, faster cycles, lower investment per artist. But we all know what we’re losing. We’re losing the artists who need three albums to find their voice. We’re losing the trust that said, ‘We’re in this for the long term.’ We’re losing the difference between administrators of content and builders of culture. 

“Quality takes time. It takes believing before the proof exists. Yes, it’s riskier. But the alternative is a future where music is infinite yet none of it matters. The industry won’t change because we’re nostalgic. It’ll change because enough of us decide that building something that lasts is better business than strip-mining attention. We can be curators again. We can be partners again. We can be believers again. The question is whether we want to.”

“The continued lack of patience that I see. Every artist’s journey is different and it takes a real commitment to taking the time to tap into what each one needs to realize their potential to succeed and, equally important, understanding when. I believe that’s one of the keys to artist development and a guiding principle in what we do.”

“The celebration of the homogenization of A&R is really tough to watch. I’m really happy, and proud, of our commitment to patient, longterm artist development. Artists such JayDon, Loe Shimmy and honestav are those to watch in 2026.”

“For me, the frustration is trying to keep all sides of the industry together. When it’s everyone against the world, it’s a bit easier. Once you have deals with undisclosed terms, it gets a bit more challenging. Merlin makes it a bit easier, though. I think Merlin as an entity represents the indies collectively and has given them a place at the table that removes some of the rift. We are more one community than we’ve ever been but it’s hard to keep everyone on the same page.”

“There remains huge opportunity for the industry to operate much more efficiently. It’s encouraging that more and more companies are doing more with data. Data drives discovery and data drives the dollars, so we need to manage data better and exchange it more freely.”

“I’m frustrated that the government seems more inclined to work against us than for us on AI questions. They see it as an arms race and they want to flatten the speed bumps. We’re also frustrated that we haven’t seen more reforms from collecting societies as far as transparency. Songwriters should have a right of transparency, as well as freedom of movement [to another society].”

“The difficulty in aligning and uniting different constituencies within the music industry — label vs. artist vs. writer vs. publisher — to address the major challenges we collectively face including platform demonetization and protection of IP and artists’ rights.”

“With so much new music coming so fast, one can’t live with it long enough. Also, the datafication of the art form.”

“The loss of jobs on the label side.”

“Bad actors offering bad deals and artists paying the price.”

“The industry continues to force audiences into silos and boxes. We believe that the world has no pre-determined walls and good music, culture and art is transcendent.”

“It’s becoming increasingly frustrating to cut through the clutter and reach potential fans with new music. With the digital ‘gates’ being wide open, the relentless flood of new music — both human and artificially created — as well as the ever-expanding amount of other entertainment content, makes capturing an audience’s attention incredibly challenging. I truly hope that our industry eventually finds a happy medium that allows for meaningful curation without restricting access to the market. It will be better for the fan, for the artist and for the industry.

“Another frustration is our industry’s continual tendency toward infighting. I’ve always believed we would all be so much better off if everyone worked responsibly toward a healthy, diverse and sustainable music ecosystem, even if that means putting self-interest aside from time to time. This is especially true when we are all trying to grapple with the changes that AI is bringing. While there are glimmers of hope for sure, I find that too many in our industry choose to isolate themselves or seek individual advantages rather than collectively focusing on tackling common challenges. We would all be so much better off if we could change this paradigm.”

“I think it’s increasingly difficult for new artists to break through and finding that next great artist or song you love has become a real challenge for fans. I’m personally very proud of the work we’ve done to support artists at all stages of their careers. We’ve done this through emerging artist programs like Breakthrough, and with the development of AI features that increase the opportunity to find new artists and explore catalogs more deeply. A good example is our work with Alexa+. The new Alexa knows your music taste and how it evolves, and when we brought Alexa+ into the Amazon Music mobile app, it made it easier for fans to discover music. Early Access customers are exploring music three times more than before. That’s the kind of impact we’re looking for — making discovery feel effortless while giving emerging artists a real shot at finding their audience.”

“I think we’re in a transformative period for our industry, with AI technologies presenting both opportunities and challenges, but the conversation has become too binary — you’re either for it or against it, and the reality is more nuanced. What remains constant is our customers’ desire for compelling, innovative music that resonates with them. What I’ve been hearing from customers for years is that they’re hungry for more music that surprises them, that breaks the mold. The opportunity here is to use every tool available to push creativity forward. AI can be an incredible tool for artists to experiment, to try things they couldn’t before, to break through creative blocks. We’re committed to working with artists and industry partners to understand how we can best serve music creators and listeners as the landscape evolves. The key is maintaining an approach that preserves what makes music special while being open to innovations that could benefit the creative community.”

“That some tech companies think that they can steal creators’ works with no consent, credit or payment. There is nothing more dangerous than an environment that does not respect creators and the law. Advocacy has been in ASCAP’s DNA for more than 100 years, and we will always fight for our members to be fairly compensated for the use of their music.”

“We need to get streaming payments, including from Spotify, to a more robust level.”

“My biggest frustration is the constant search for shortcuts in developing artists. With too many artists putting out too much content, the fans on the other side are overwhelmed with mediocrity. Greatness matters and that only occurs when you start with an artist who has undeniable talent and is willing to put in the work over many years. When paired with a company that has the same level of commitment and belief, true artist development happens. That has been and always will be the biggest opportunity in music.”

“Because rights are extremely fragmented, it continues to be quite challenging for technology platforms, media companies and other potential third-party licensees to do business with us as an industry. Fragmentation of rights appears to be a feature, not a bug, to our collective business model. The number of intermediaries that companies must deal with will continue to make it hard for us as an industry to enter into agreements that can unlock value for artists and songwriters. The MLC is a good example of the industry moving toward a more rational mechanism for customers to access our rights cohesively. We need to put more effort into these kinds of arrangements that can streamline licensing in order to unlock additional value for all participants in our economic sphere.”

“As an industry, we need to work together to reestablish the value of music. At Apple Music, we do not believe that music should be free; that is why we don’t have a free tier. It’s also why we pay all artists the same headline rate. Music must not become a commodity. We must fight to preserve the integrity of music — the most accessible of all art forms. That’s why we are so committed to our values and will continue to find ways to offer artists a platform to tell their stories and connect more deeply with their fans.”

“I don’t see frustrations, only opportunities. We now have a much larger pool of talent, new technology and a larger potential audience. We have fewer gatekeepers and more ability to manage fans’ direct to consumer relationships. We also have big shifts in trend changes. If you like change, then you’re in the right business and it’s a great time.”

“I would like to see more stories around true artist development.”

“The prioritization of optics over smart business decisions. It’s too common that people focus on first week sales, comparable metrics and instant gratification. Real artists require development, not just of their talent, but also of their audience. They need to grow and evolve with an audience that lasts the test of time. That isn’t reflected in first week sales. When teams make decisions based on first week sales, or how they stack up to others, they cut off the longterm upside of the artist. Ultimately, these are shortsighted decisions that hurt the artists and their longterm business success.”

“Too many financial decisions in music are optimized for the short term, even though the real value of a great song compounds over years.”