Shows / Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
Music is upstream from politics. Drowned in Sound investigates how the music industry shapes society and how fans, artists, and workers can organise for systemic change. Hosted by Sean Adams, we decode streaming economics, sustainable touring, climate and tech, workers’ rights, and collective solutions with musicians, researchers, and changemakers.
Episodes
Drowned in SoundHow Music Supports Mental Health with Ariana Alexander-Sefre (SPOKE)
What does it mean to “metabolize” emotion through music? Do wellness tools actually work better when paired with your favourite artist? Why does the music…
Drowned in SoundCan You Hear Earth Singing? Meet Musicians Using Sound to Protect the Planet
What does a melting glacier sound like? Can a rainforest sing? And what happens when the last bird of its species hears a recording and tries to reply? In this…
Drowned in SoundSynths, Sound & Music’s Future with Martyn Ware (The Human League / Heaven 17 / BEF / Electronically Yours podcast)
What did the future sound like when the synthesizer first arrived? What does it feel like now, with AI looming and immersive audio spaces on the rise? In this…
Drowned in SoundOffline Joy: The Do-It-Together Spirit Fueling Stealing Sheep’s New Era
What's it like to be an artist right now? And what does the future of music look like? Will it be AI-generated slop or a joyful return to community and…
Drowned in SoundA Goth Walked Into Nature To Make a Radio Show. A Zine Walked Out.
A conversation about Fresh Hell, subcultures in nature, and shifting the climate narrative through creativity. In this episode of the podcast that maps what…
Drowned in SoundAre Cover Bands Killing Music Scenes? (Q&A Episode)
Drowned in Sound founder and DiS podcast host, Sean Adams answers your questions. Send Qs for future episodes to sean@drownedinsound.org. Links mentioned in…
Drowned in SoundThe Report That Shook the Music Industry & Exposed Inequality
Why does gender bias still dominate radio airplay? And how did one data report force the industry to face its inequalities? In this episode of the Drowned in…
Drowned in SoundHow Do We Save Our Music Scenes? Meet Sound Diplomacy’s Shain Shapiro
What makes a great music city? How do governments, venues, and fans keep local music scenes alive? And why is music still not treated as an essential part of a…
Drowned in SoundFestivals For Future: Frances Fox on Music’s Role in Climate Justice
Music has long been a force for change but as extreme weather disrupts events and the industry grapples with its own environmental footprint, can music be a…
Drowned in SoundHow We Open Music’s Doors to Everyone (Not Just the Rich)
From grassroots venues and youth music programs to Mercury Prize winners, early support shapes who gets to make music—and who doesn’t. But is access to music a…
Drowned in SoundWill music survive the next 25 years? - Season 3 Prologue
How will music survive until 2050? Will streaming monopolies and economic pressures lead to music’s decline, or can we build a fairer, more sustainable future?…
Drowned in SoundHow does music get discovered? Favourite venues? Brexit? - Q&A Special: Part 2
In part two of this Q&A experiment, Drowned in Sound founder Sean Adams delves into various topics, including the process of discovering new music, the…
Drowned in SoundWhy weren’t [insert band] massive? Music’s true value? Gaffes? - Q&A Special: Part 1
To mark Drowned in Sound's 24th anniversary and before we begin a new season of the podcast, Drowned in Sound founder Sean Adams answers your questions. Here…
Drowned in SoundWhat is the function of record reviews in 2024?
Elijah is a profound thinker and this conversations draws on his influential grime nights with Stormzy & Skepta, writing about music, DJing and to his Yellow…
Drowned in SoundThe joys of magazine-making with PROG Editor Jerry Ewing
How do you become a magazine editor that can put Kate Bush on the cover? And what’s it like running a genre-specific title in 2023? In a world where the…
Drowned in SoundWhat’s it like to broadcast from a war zone?
Award-winning reporter Julia MacFarlane explains what the music press can learn from traditional news journalism. As Drowned in Sound's podcast season looking…
Drowned in SoundShould music critics ’pivot to video’?
Meet the YouTube music critic who runs whilst reviewing records. Probably not all of them, but there are some people evolving music criticism onto new mediums…
Drowned in SoundWhy Music Journalism Matters
The Quietus' John Doran reflects on the demise of Pitchfork and whether music journalism is now destined to be a hobby or can writing/thinking/talking about…
Drowned in SoundIs ’Traditional Media’ Still Relevant for New Artists?
Does the music industry still need the music press? Do new acts still care about media coverage? Explore the shifting landscape of music promotion in the…
Drowned in SoundIf $600 billion a year is being spent, why are so many publications closing?
In a digital world awash with advertising money, why are music publications and media outlets facing extinction? As we explore the future of the music press…
Drowned in SoundHas music become a sub-genre of internet culture?
NBC News' tech and culture reporter Kat Tenbarge has her finger firmly on the pulse of internet culture and the influencer economy. She honed her expertise at…
Drowned in SoundShouldn’t all music journalism be intersectional?
From revolutions in Iran to the pleasures of Lana Del Rey journalist Emma Garland has written for Vice, Huck, The Quietus, The Face, Crack, Dazed, Sunday…
Drowned in SoundLessons from two decades of crafting DIY Magazine
What's it really like to edit a music website? DIY Magazine co-founder Emma Swann joins DiS founder Sean Adams on season two of the Drowned in Sound podcast…
Drowned in SoundWhy music needs to talk about the climate crisis
Journalist, podcaster and climate communicator Greg Cochrane shares how interviewing ANOHNI changed his life, what it was like editing NME’s website, the joy…
Drowned in SoundHow will the music coverage of the future be funded?
Kickstarter's co-founder Yancey Strickler shares lessons from Fugazi's label and Beastie Boys' Grand Royal magazine and discusses the forward-thinking ethos of…
Drowned in SoundIs music journalism’s future in campaigning?
The Big Issue's Culture Editor Laura Kelly on their campaigning work, like Venue Watch to help save grassroots music venues across the UK. As Laura says…
Drowned in SoundIntroduction to S2: The Editor’s Letter / Voice Note
Where is music journalism headed? Sean Adams (@seaninsound) introduces season* two of the Drowned in Sound podcast in the style of an editor's letter meets a…
Drowned in SoundDiS008: Live Music And Mental Health
Everyone from Radiohead to Sugababes to industry insiders are raving about a new book by therapist and live music expert Tamsin Embleton. It's an extraordinary…
Drowned in SoundDiS007: AI, AI, AI! UK Government’s War on Copyrighted Music?! Beatles AI song! - Dr Hayleigh Bosher explains it all
Our series of conversations about Artificial Intelligence and music continues with a look at the ethics and legal implications of these new forms of technology…
Drowned in SoundDiS006: Women’s Equality in Music & Glastonbury’s pipeline with Vick Bain from The F List / ISM
In case it wasn't obvious, this a music podcast that hasn't had enough of experts and to mark International Women's Day 2023 we spoke to Vick Bain the founder…
Drowned in SoundDiS005: How music can embrace the power of AI with ChatGPT expert David Boyle
“If you start out and it doesn't do something that you're very impressed by, your assumption should be that your prompt wasn't very good,” this summarises the…
Drowned in SoundDiS004: Tune in, AI Out - the co-founders of Endel on music’s potential futures
The robots are coming, and people are fearful and excited about the potential for AI and music to collide. It's hard to escape the discourse surrounding…
Drowned in SoundDiS003: TikTok, ”Authenticity” and Music with Eleanor from Crystal Fighters
TikTok is so important, but what on earth are you meant to be doing on it? Here at Drowned in Sound we have not had a enough of experts, so we found one who…
Drowned in SoundDiS002: Discover... The Faux Faux (Faith Vern from PINS)
Faith Vern has collaborated with the likes Iggy Pop and Maxine Peake, and played huge sets on main stages of festivals such as Reading with her band PINS. In…
Drowned in SoundDiS001: The trade unionist campaigning for fairer streaming - Naomi Pohl from Musicians’ Union
How do we "fix" music streaming? It's a question that has plagued the music industry and musicians for a decade and a half, whilst debating the pounds, pennies…
Drowned in SoundDiS000: Prologue
If this is an "audio publication" then this episode is the editor's (voice) note, as Sean Adams introduces some of the topics, ideas and thinking this new…
Drowned in SoundFrom the Archive: Mercury Prize judges help us ponder: What makes a truly great album?
Mercury Music Prize 2015 judges John Kennedy from Radio X and Kate Mossman from New Statesman/BBC Four, join DiS editor Sean Adams and podcast co-host Danielle…
Drowned in SoundFrom the Archive: Blogs that became labels with Toby L from Rockfeedback / Transgressive (2015)
Toby L who founded music website, concert promoter and TV show Rockfeedback, as well as the Transgressive label (home to releases by Foals, The Antlers, Regina…