this is like rolling stone writing a eulogy for rock music, which has already happened (correctly) more than once.
i think the future is in bands like son lux, who released a new album today. but they aren't young, they're my age. in fact, i hope i'm still able to be creative, myself. there aren't many innovative actors in today's music scene and it's because the media landscape discourages it. the video doesn't talk about the way that streaming sites like spotify place everything into extremely narrow demographics and then nail the listener to those demographics via aggressive personalization. once the marketing algorithm decides you listen to a specific subgenre, it will flood you with music that sounds exactly the same.
if we want to talk solutions, it should be in pushing back against the personalization. ai is going to intensify personalization, not break it. because you're just a money machine, in the end.
it's up to listeners to break this in the end. what's worrying me is that i don't see a lot of evidence that the market is unhappy with the status quo. that wasn't the case in the late 80s, when there was a real revolt against corporate radio and mtv.
the irony is that it's easier to revolt now than it was then. but i just don't think these kids want to revolt, i think these kids like the corporate commodification. i consequently think we're looking at a lengthy period of stagnation.