Marketplace®
Every story is an economic story
Episode 1508Dec 25, 2025

The music industry vs. AI (rerun)

And, why what tops the charts can feel random these days.

Download
The music industry vs. AI (rerun)
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images

Subscribe:

Hey smarties! We’re taking a short break for the holidays. So today, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from 2025. Enjoy!

Today we’re diving into the business of music. Trapital founder Dan Runcie joins Kimberly to explain what Anthropic’s recent copyright settlement with authors could mean for record labels who’ve sued AI companies, the “fair use” debates dominating the music industry, and why even the biggest stars are struggling to create chart-toppers these days. Plus, we’ll celebrate a win from one of our listeners.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

We love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

The Team

The music industry vs. AI (rerun)