What does music look like in 2021? Live streaming will be a dominant force as live rooms are still closed. The pandemic will wind down in the spring and the talks between bookers, promoters, and artists will become serious again. How do we get the artists back in the venues in the fall of 2021? And what are the regulations? That’s the big unknown.

TikTok made an impact on the music business. Everybody from agents, artists and managers want in on the game hoping they have the next viral TikTok track, but the platform may have peaked. Most of the streaming platforms now have short video versions and the competition is at an all time high. Also, TikTok was built on 13 and 15 year olds, the most fickle demographic that could be move on.
As far as songwriting, there will be less writers on a song. It got to the point that a song consisted of 20 songwriters and the guy who was cleaning the windows got credit too for adding extra vibe to the room.
Will podcasting explode as predicted? I don’t think so. There are too many voices and it’s tough to come up with interesting topics that interest people. If it’s not political or biblical, then it’s not listenable.
I think artists will take more risks in 2021. People tend to take more risks in times of unpredictability. Plus, competition is fierce. The music and the story – everything needs to stand out.

The question we all need to ask it what’s next and how do we become part of it?