How AI and Algorithms Are Transforming Music

On the Media

It’s been almost a year since the historic music outlet Pitchfork shrank considerably. On this week’s On the Media, why the distinctive voices in music journalism are worth saving. Plus, how AI music generators could upend the industry.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger, speaks with Ann Powers, critic and correspondent for NPR Music, on Condé Nast's acquisition of the influential music publication Pitchfork, and what this means for the future of music journalism.

[12:45] Host Micah Loewinger speaks to Kyle Chayka, staff writer at The New Yorker, about how algorithms are changing how people discover and listen to music – and all too often, not for the better.

[28:39] Former OTM producer, and current composer and sound designer, Mark Henry Phillips, on how AI music generators could fundamentally upend the industry for good.

Further reading:

• “With Pitchfork in peril, a word on the purpose of music journalism,” by Ann Powers
• "Why I Finally Quit Spotify," by Kyle Chayka

A segment from this show originally aired on our January 19, 2024 program, Trouble at The Baltimore Sun, and the End of an Era for Pitchfork.

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