Can You Run the Music Industry without Musicians?
We will now find out
Culture
The Honest Broker.
Ted Gioia on music, literature, and the business of culture.
Recent essays
30 of 73Ten New Albums I'm Recommending Right Now
Warning: strange soul-stirring sounds ahead!
How to Destroy a Literary Reputation in One Move
Media companies invent a new kind of stupid
Is Spotify Vulnerable?
Rival streamer Qobuz grew more than 200% in one year—while Spotify struggles to attract new users
An Uncanny Moment for Jazz Lovers
Sonny Rollins dies the day before the Miles Davis centenary
What I'm Hearing from Readers
It’s painful to admit, but the comments emails from readers are sometimes better than my articles. Here are some recent responses.
Anti-AI Laws Now Get Unanimous Support from Left & Right
In just three years, Silicon Valley has destroyed its entire support network. It's still in denial—but that won't last.
65 of My Favorite Quotations
Ranging widely from Seneca to Ringo Starr
The Hottest Musician in 2026 Is 'Problematic' Michael Jackson
And that's exactly what the music business wants
The New Counterculture
Ted Gioia on the next indie wave
Rick Beato Versus the NY Times
The backlash over the best songwriter list intensifies
How to Tell If You're Living in a Binary Crisis
And how to get out of it
72 Hours in New Orleans
I came. I saw. I ate beignets.
My 9 Rules of Criticism
Advice to wannabe reviewers
The Fantastic Nicknames of Jazz
If you’re a jazz fan, see how many of the nicknames in the poem below you can identify.
12 New YouTube Videos I'm Recommending Right Now
Including the trendiest band of the current moment
Socrates vs. the Venture Capitalist
Which side do you pick?
The NY Times Asked Me to Pick the Greatest Living American Songwriters
Here's my ballot for the Times survey
Movie Theaters Are Coming Back (for the Saddest Reason)
It's a five-letter word that starts with G.
Why I Believe in Karma
Let me share the evidence
The 10 Most Popular Articles from The Honest Broker (2021-2026)
In celebration of my fifth anniversary on Substack
Did Streaming Subscription Prices Just Hit the Wall?
Consumers have learned three winning strategies for defeating subscription fatigue.
Blues Legend Robert Johnson Like You've Never Heard Him Before
I'm recommending these 12 new YouTube videos
How to Be a Serious Reader
Henry Oliver on developing literary taste in an age of TV binge-watching and dumbed-down mass culture
The Ten Commandments of the New AI Religion
This is the creepy creed of our time
Tells Us What You're Doing
Today is open mic day at The Honest Broker
How to Read the Great Books in 52 Weeks
A conversation on my humanities reading program
New Music Is Slowly Dying
It's getting murdered by its own caretakers
I'm Recommending 14 New Albums
Here are some of my favorite recordings of 2026 (so far)
Everything You Expect Is Missing in 'Project Hail Mary'
And that's for the better