I'd argue that it ain't more "gatekeepers" the present music landscape needs; there are already plenty on the "genre" level to provide decent quality control for the constituencies they serve.
What the present requires is, rather, more 'evangelism'; to make up for what space the Nostalgia Industrial Complex has taken away. Particularly, the sort of ad-hoc "connective tissue" between local/small-nation scenes who face challenges to grow and the increasingly remote and insular larger industry. There's too huge of a gap between the UMG and Sony "minor leagues" and these places and scenes that are growing and thriving, but limited on opportunities.
I suppose by "gatekeepers" I was referring more to higher profile press points etc where people could simply go for recommendations and steer as to what to listen to. Non-algorithmic ones, obviously.
I'd argue gatekeepers allow fans to rally around specific artists and scenes, and that in turn aids the development of said scene (well, most of the time). Right now, it's far too nebulous and DSPs are only really acting as a radio replacement, creating superficial connections with music but not artists and that artist's vision and story.
I honestly don't know. But the general lack of presence - at least in a united sense anyway - speaks volumes. And that, really, is the issue for me. I don't doubt that trade bodies do a lot and have achieved a lot historically. However the issue in 2024 is that they cannot appear to find alignment on anything, and as such just present as a mess of opposing views and inefficiency in general.
I'd argue that it ain't more "gatekeepers" the present music landscape needs; there are already plenty on the "genre" level to provide decent quality control for the constituencies they serve.
What the present requires is, rather, more 'evangelism'; to make up for what space the Nostalgia Industrial Complex has taken away. Particularly, the sort of ad-hoc "connective tissue" between local/small-nation scenes who face challenges to grow and the increasingly remote and insular larger industry. There's too huge of a gap between the UMG and Sony "minor leagues" and these places and scenes that are growing and thriving, but limited on opportunities.
I suppose by "gatekeepers" I was referring more to higher profile press points etc where people could simply go for recommendations and steer as to what to listen to. Non-algorithmic ones, obviously.
I'd argue gatekeepers allow fans to rally around specific artists and scenes, and that in turn aids the development of said scene (well, most of the time). Right now, it's far too nebulous and DSPs are only really acting as a radio replacement, creating superficial connections with music but not artists and that artist's vision and story.
Where do you think Merlin fits into this picture?
I honestly don't know. But the general lack of presence - at least in a united sense anyway - speaks volumes. And that, really, is the issue for me. I don't doubt that trade bodies do a lot and have achieved a lot historically. However the issue in 2024 is that they cannot appear to find alignment on anything, and as such just present as a mess of opposing views and inefficiency in general.