2020: What's Next?

I’ve been away for a while. I took some time off from the newsletter to think and reflect.

The world has changed and is never going back to what it once was. We must remind ourselves that with great change comes great opportunity.

In 2009, the economic crisis paved the way for the gig economy that defined the following decade, with companies like AirBnB, Uber, Spotify emerging victorious. Their successes, as well as the Web 2.0 x Social Media boom, set the stage for a D2C world of brands being able to interact with and target consumers in groundbreaking ways. The music business is now starting to organize that way, too.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what’s next. How will climate change impact culture and the world? Will this watershed race relations moments yield necessary societal changes? Is the pandemic an isolated incident or merely our first brush with an uncertain new health landscape? How will 2020 look in the history books?

What’s working right now is virtual connection. The 2020 “Zoom boom” has changed the face of meetings and travel forever. It’s phenomenal technology and it’s very user-friendly. It transforms conversations and events. But, in my opinion, it doesn’t resonate the same way. Communities like Clubhouse, on the other hand, have allowed people to hang out together and discuss ideas without having to be physically present. It’s currently the best place to network online, but that could all change again as it opens up to the public.

As for broadcasting, IG Live reigns supreme. It’s real, raw, and has changed the face of interview shows. Now everyone can moonlight as an interviewer. As long as you stay consistent, you can gain traction.

It’s also clear that the music business is going to undergo the reconfiguration it so desperately needs. The pandemic has sobered the industry up, forcing artists to think critically about their situations. With no tour money coming in, it’s scary for the live ecosystem. Artists have an opportunity to look at the bigger picture and call out unfair practices. There are ways that the industry code must be re-written. It’s imperative that we design new models.

So where will the big opportunities be? Are we all going to be virtual journalists and media channels? A.I. versions of ourselves? To some extent, yes.

This election will set the tone, direction, and pace of change. I’ve got hope, vision, and my finger on the pulse. Nue and the Beats & Bytes community is down to do its part!

Keep it locked for a slate of virtual events around the election and the rest of 2020 that will bring together the brightest minds in music, gaming, tech, and brand marketing. Beats & Bytes and CRWN will also be back in your feeds for Q4!

So get involved. Stay connected. And let’s build these 2020’s into a decade of positivity, opportunity, and change.

Jesse Kirshbaum

CEO of Nue