18 Music Industry Power Players Share Predictions for 2025
With 2025 in full swing, 18 top executives from across the music business share predictions for the year.
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It’s January, and that can only mean one thing: It’s time to make some predictions about the coming year. We at Billboard have already put our heads together to come up with both predictions — around TikTok, catalogs, Live Nation, mergers, ticket prices, “Streaming 2.0” and emerging markets, among other things — as well as the top stories to watch for 2025: the Diddy trial, streaming fraud crackdowns, AI regulation battles, distribution consolidation, the future of biopics and plenty more.
Suffice it to say, there’s a lot going on in the music business right now. And as the industry gears up for the Grammy Awards this coming Sunday (Feb. 2) — refashioned this year by the Recording Academy as a fundraiser to support wildfire relief in the Los Angeles area — Billboard has released its annual Power 100 ranking of the most powerful executives in the music business. And who better to ask for predictions for 2025 than some of the most powerful people in music?
The below responses, from players across the industry, run the gamut: from tongue-in-cheek slam dunks to thoughtful breakdowns of genre trends and advertising shifts; from how technology will continue to shape how the business of music is conducted to the continued strength of the catalog sales market. Some of these predictions are in line with those selected by Billboard staffers, while others are born out of the passions and expertise of some of the business leaders populating this year’s Power 100. But all are worth a look as the business begins to heat up for a new year.
Let the games begin.
