My 14-year-old niece, Kayla, looked at me last month with the kind of pity usually reserved for someone who still burns CDs.
"You still listen to *albums*?" she asked. "Like, the whole thing? In order?"
I tried to explain the concept of a B-side. She'd already scrolled past me.
Here's the thing — she wasn't being rude. She was being *accurate*. The way music gets discovered, consumed, and turned into a career has flipped completely, and 2025 might be the year the flip became
## The 15-Second Audition That Replaced the Demo Tape
Remember when getting signed meant mailing a demo to a label and praying? I've talked to artists who spent years grinding that system. Now the audition is a 15-second clip, and the judges are 40 milli
Take the case of **Alex Warren**, whose song "Ordinary" became one of the most-streamed tracks on the planet this year after clips of him performing it for his wife racked up millions of views. Or **B
TikTok clips are launching artists straight to stadium tours in months. Here's how viral hits are rewriting the music in