Stephanie Vee makes the case for owning your music:

To me, a music streaming subscription only really makes sense if you’re at that impressionable stage of your life where you still live and breathe new music – or if you’re one of those rare people who continue to seek out new music as you age. As for the rest of us? I think we should maybe just own our shit and stop paying tech CEOs to rent it. Chances are, I’ll still be rocking out to Hot Fuss in my retirement home, so why should I rent it from the likes of Daniel Ek for the next four decades (or longer)?

If you’re reading this website there’s probably a good chance you’re in that “rare” camp.

Rolling Stone, Variety, and Billboard have all laid off staff before the holidays:

Penske Media Corporation (PMC) has conducted multiple rounds of layoffs across its music and entertainment outlets in 2025. These cuts have impacted writers at Billboard, Rolling Stone, and Variety as the corporation faces revenue pressures from Google’s AI summaries.