There is an overload of music. 60,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify every day. Over 20% of those don’t get streamed even once. The ubiquitous access to almost every piece of recorded music in history has led to a paradox of choice, promoting passive and playlist-driven music consumption and creating winner-take-all effects for the biggest artists.

As the internet continues to decentralize culture, letting us choose which streaming services and video games and social media we want to base our lives around, some of the most intoxicating new music is coming from these tiny SoundCloud pockets, which you can only access if you already know to look there. This is music you won’t find in mainstream... See more

Music has always adapted to the culture enabled by its dominant format . When radio was king, you needed to grab attention in the first 15 seconds or risk getting skipped. But radio DJs were gatekeepers who could champion unique picks to their taste if they believed in them. When Jay-Z and Kanye West 's “Otis” premiered in 2011, Funkmaster Flex... See more