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How AI and TikTok Are Breaking the Music Industry - Rick Beato

Rick Beato is a multi-instrumentalist musician, YouTuber, and a music producer. Music and the industry around it have changed dramatically over the past few decades. With the rise of AI, the dominance of streaming platforms like Spotify, and the fading relevance of traditional Popstars, the old model of making and producing music is on its last breath. So what comes next? And who or what will shape the future of music? Expect to learn why Live Nation has become a lot of peoples enemies, what most people don’t understand about the process of making a pop song now, the trends musically that are dominating at the moment and why country is controlling the charts, the impact of TikTok on music generation, the rise of AI artists, bands and the rippling effects it will have on creatives in the music industry, what the future of music monetisation is going to look like, why Popstars are becoming obsolete, and much more... - 00:00 Imagine If You Were The Guy Who Killed Beyoncé 02:21 What Goes Into Making A Pop Song? 10:24 Producer Driven Song vs Artist Written Song 23:41 What Do Pop Stars Bring To The Table Today? 29:52 What Trends Are Dominating Currently? 38:52 Is Music Too Easy To Make Now? 49:24 The Impact Of TikTok On Music & Formula For Making A Hit Song 1:05:01 Why Is Country Music So Popular Now? 1:14:07 Will AI Artists Takeover The Music Industry? 1:22:33 The Ethics Of AI In Music 1:36:05 What is The Current Take Of The Music Financial Industry? 1:41:44 The Good, Bad, & Ugly Of Spotify 1:47:15 The Future Of Music Monetization - Get the best bloodwork analysis in America at https://functionhealth.com/modernwisdom Get a 20% discount on Nomatic’s amazing luggage at https://nomatic.com/modernwisdom Get a Free Sample Pack of LMNT’s most popular Flavours with your first purchase at https://drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom Get 35% off your first subscription on the best supplements from Momentous at https://livemomentous.com/modernwisdom - Get access to every episode 10 hours before YouTube by subscribing for free on Spotify - https://spoti.fi/2LSimPn or Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/2MNqIgw Get my free Reading List of 100 life-changing books here - https://chriswillx.com/books/ Try my productivity energy drink Neutonic here - https://neutonic.com/modernwisdom - Get in touch in the comments below or head to... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/

Rick BeatoguestChris Williamsonhost
Jul 9, 20252h 1mWatch on YouTube ↗

At a glance

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

TikTok, AI, And Algorithms: How Modern Tech Reshapes Music Itself

  1. Rick Beato and Chris Williamson dissect how the music industry has shifted from artist- and album-centric to platform- and algorithm-centric, with TikTok, Spotify, and AI now driving what gets heard and how songs are made.
  2. They explain the hidden factory of modern songwriting—producer-driven tracks, writing camps, and Nashville’s industrialized song pipelines—contrasting it with legacy bands, live musicianship, and older production craft.
  3. The conversation explores homogenized sound from digital tools, the outsized importance of social media and pre-existing fame, the rise of popified country, and the economic reality that live shows and diverse income streams now sustain most artists.
  4. They close by wrestling with AI music and voice cloning, the ethics and business incentives behind AI-generated artists, and the likely emergence of ‘human-only’ platforms in response.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Most mainstream pop songs are factory products, not personal confessionals.

Beato details how many stars contribute minimally to songwriting beyond top-line tweaks or concept ideas, while professional writers and producers build the actual songs—yet marketing still encourages fans to read deep personal meaning into them.

TikTok virality is now a prerequisite for breaking many songs.

Labels can still help, but without a 10–15 second viral moment on TikTok or Shorts, it’s increasingly difficult for singles to gain traction; artists who can self-produce frequent short-form content have a huge structural advantage.

Digital tools make music easier to produce but more sonically homogenous.

Amp modelers, DAWs, presets, samples, and AI mastering standardize the palette, and with fewer top-tier producers/mixers in rock, many tracks share the same sonic fingerprints instead of the unique character of older, amp- and room-based recordings.

Artists must now be entrepreneurs, not just musicians.

Surviving artists stack revenue from touring, merch, online lessons, plugins/gear collabs, VIP experiences, and YouTube—because streaming alone often doesn’t pay enough unless you’re at the very top of the charts.

Country’s recent boom is driven by pop production and rock refugees.

Modern country borrows pop drum loops and hooks while offering guitars and storytelling, attracting former rock listeners and ex-metal musicians who now power much of the country scene’s sound and touring.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

Most pop songwriters, not all, have very little to do with their songs other than choosing them.

— Rick Beato

You can have the greatest record in the world, a revolutionary new trend in music—and if you don’t have those 15 seconds, it doesn’t really matter.

— Rick Beato

Music is too easy to make and too easy to consume.

— Rick Beato

If AIs are able to create better music than you as an artist can, you either need to up your game or you’re going to be defeated by the robots.

— Chris Williamson

The people that do well nowadays aren’t just writing songs and going on tour. They’ve all got their own recipe of income streams.

— Rick Beato

Hidden songwriting and producer-driven versus artist-driven musicTikTok and algorithmic platforms as gatekeepers of hits and careersIndustrialized song creation in Nashville and session musician cultureHomogenization of sound through digital tools and loss of production craftShift in artist value: social media presence, athletic performance, and live showsEconomic realities of streaming, Spotify, and diversified artist incomeRise of AI-generated music, voice cloning, and future regulation or labeling

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