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We're really at a crossroads because, as it is right now, record labels are almost

catalog companies.

Like, they're just amassing money from back catalog, actively signing new artists, developing them,

investing in them. That doesn't seem to be the ethos. And what kind of industry,

music business or otherwise, can rely on being a catalog industry. That's essentially a nostalgia

industry, something that's looking at the past versus looking at the future. And to me, the

VMAs were kind of indicative of that.

That's Somiya Krishnamurthy, a music journalist whose work has been featured from Rolling

Stone to Billboard to NPR.

Just hours after the conclusion of MTV's 2025 Video Music Awards, I talked with Somia about the business and cultural lessons from the show and what it reveals about the state of the music industry.

Somia also talks about Taylor Swift, AI, and music,

and the latest twists in the streaming war between Spotify and Apple. There's plenty of

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