Over roughly the past decade, each stage in the evolution of the attention economy accelerated the pace of fragmentation and oversaturation in music, unearthing new challenges for each micro-generation of artists. With all these generations now competing in the same playing field, artist strategy depends strongly on the era in which they rose to prominence. On streaming, today’s new artists and releases face two unique challenges: competing with pre-streaming-era cultural moments, and competing with the growing volume of all music in history. 

Companies and brands mentioned in this report:  American Idol, Beyoncé, Billboard, Billie Eilish,            Boiler Room, Britney Spears, Chance the Rapper, Christina Aguilera, Discord, Doja Cat, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Fleetwood Mac, Fred Again…, Glass Animals, Harry Styles, Instagram, Jack Halow, Kate Bush, Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, Latto, Michael Jackson, Mr Beast, Nicki Minaj, Olivia Rodrigo, PewDiePie, Post Malone, Tai Verdes, Taylor Swift, The Kid LAROI, and TikTok