There was a time when all you had to do was open a trade magazine to know what to listen to that month. Today it is no longer so simple. Between automatically generated playlists, millions of songs uploaded every day and an audience that discovers new music by scrolling through the feed rather than by reading an article, the profession of music critic finds itself at a crossroads. The question is not whether music journalism will survive, but what form it will take.
When the algorithm becomes the first critic
Spotify uploads tens of thousands of new songs to its platform every day. A number that, until a few years ago, would have seemed impossible for any human relationship to manage. The algorithms, however, never get tired: they analyze ratings, skip rates, viewing times and transform them into personalized recommendations within milliseconds.
The result? Many listeners no longer look for reviews before choosing a record. They trust what appears in their “Discoveries of the Week” playlist or in the app's automatic recommendations. The traditional review, the long, reasoned one, published on the day of release, has lost part of its original function: to guide immediate purchase or listening.
The music journalist as a guide in digital noise
If the algorithm selects, who explains why? Here a new space opens up for those who write about music: no longer gatekeepers who decide what deserves attention, but interpreters who help give meaning to a continuous flow of content.
Many critics today work remotely, following international festivals, interviewing artists via video call from an airport or a hotel room, and this also entails practical risks that are often underestimated. You can often hear the advice, download VPN apps for PC or on a smartphone, and that's right. The reason is that VPN apps from a trusted brand, like VeePN VPN, can protect against phishing, data theft, and surveillance. VeePN also has multiple servers in 60 countries, from Türkiye to Brazil.
Not a marginal security measure. The profession of using mobile devices, using email and digital security can also protect you from phishing, data theft and surveillance.
From numbers to stories: the new value of context
An algorithm can tell you that a song had three million plays in a week. It can't tell you why that song speaks to a generation, or how it fits into the history of a genre. It is here that music journalism finds its renewed reason for being: telling the context, not just the data.
According to some industry estimates, over 60% of listeners under 30 discover new music through social media and algorithms, compared to just 15% who say they still rely on written reviews. Numbers that might seem like a condemnation, but which in reality simply shift the center of gravity: musical writing becomes less prescriptive and more explanatory. Less “buy this record”, more “here's why this record matters”.
The technical side of the job: data, travel and source protection
Those who follow international tours, festivals and press events move often, and with the move also comes the need to protect what you write before it is even published. Blocking intrusion attempts on unprotected networks, avoiding tracking of your location during a business trip, or simply surfing without leaving easily traceable traces: these are practices that are entering the daily routine of many professionals in the sector, not just those involved in IT security.
The VPN is a universal solution. Also for this reason, tools like VeePN are mentioned more and more often in guides aimed at freelancers and content creators who work on the move, not so much as a product “for experts”, but as part of a basic routine like a good file backup. It is no coincidence that it is also talked about outside of purely technological circles.
Community, authenticity and the return of the personal voice
Then there is another interesting phenomenon: the growth of participatory journalism. Independent newsletters, podcasts, channels on social platforms managed by individual critics often have more credibility, in the eyes of young audiences, than a historical newspaper.
As a music critic recently interviewed by a trade magazine observed, “the public no longer looks for authority, they look for someone they can trust”. A phrase that well encapsulates the change underway: the logo of the newspaper doesn't count, what counts is the relationship of trust built over time with those who read or listen.
Among the skills required of music writers today, some would have been unthinkable just ten years ago:
- Ability to analyze streaming data and interpret it without falling into pure technicality
- Familiarity with short formats (short videos, threads, newsletters) in addition to the long article
- Independent management of your online presence, often without the support of an editorial team
- Minimum digital security skills, to work on the move without exposing confidential sources or materials
A look at the future of music criticism
Music journalism is not disappearing. It's changing its skin. From a selection tool to an interpretation tool, from a single voice to a network of different voices, from static text to multifaceted content that lives between article, video and audio.
Those who know how to adapt will probably not lose relevance: they will gain it, simply in a different form from what we were used to until a few years ago.
[Pubbliredazionale]
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
