We are kicking off the new year with our 3rd edition of ‘Anticipating the Future of Music and Media’, where we seek out all the publications, blogs and expert opinions on what lies ahead for the industry in 2026 and collate it all in one blog.

Take a step back in time to check out predictions for 2024, and 2025 here.

Now, we’re not perfect and predictions will continue to be released in early Jan, so if you see us missing anything you think should be in here, just drop me an email here.

The Music Business

The music industry has seen a lot of change over the last decade and 2026 will continue to see the industry evolve. No doubt we will hear more about AI and how technology can play a vital role, as well as consumer habits changing and how they evolve but where does the business stand in its current state.

Will Page’s latest report, as analyzed by Music Business Worldwide (MBW), on the global value of music copyright which reached $47.2 billion in 2024. A major milestone for the industry, but looking to the future has analytical question marks.

Author of the MBW article Murray Stassen states that Page argues in his report that “More significant structural shifts are underway in how that value is being captured and distributed. Streaming platforms have fundamentally altered the dynamics of music consumption, enabling domestic artists to achieve unprecedented scale in their home markets without necessarily achieving global recognition. This shift has profound implications for how the industry measures success, allocates resources, and projects future growth.”

“Streaming platforms have fundamentally altered the dynamics of music consumption, enabling domestic artists to achieve unprecedented scale in their home markets without necessarily achieving global recognition. This shift has profound implications for how the industry measures success, allocates resources, and projects future growth.”

Murray Stassen, Music Business Worldwide

However, Mark Mulligan, Managing Director and Senior Music Analyst at MIDiA Research, is suggesting that we are on the cusp of a new era as he says “The last decade was shaped by convenience, ubiquity, algorithms, utility, anonymity, and abundance. We are on the precipice of a new era. While it is too early to say exactly what this will be, it is likely to build on direct reactions to what defines today’s world.” Now, MIDiA Research has its webinar diving into all music predictions for 2026 on January 15th, which you can sign up to here.

Back to the Music Business Worldwide (MBW) analysis of the Will Page report, of which raised a concern about the music industry missing hundreds of millions in unmeasured markets, “Despite the $47.2 billion figure representing the most comprehensive measurement yet”. Page explains that “The most obvious tailwind, meanwhile, risks of repetition, but remains salient as ever: global needs to mean global.”

When we spoke to Sania Haq, Founder of Bye 2 Stereotypes, to discuss culture on a global scale but specifically the South Asian market, she explained that, “2025 was a turning point for South Asian music. We saw major global artists like Ed Sheeran collaborating with artists such as Arijit Singh and Karan Aujla, but what really changed was that these were no longer novelty collaborations. Many of them genuinely resonated with audiences and proved that South Asian music has real cultural and commercial weight.”

That also means the bar has been raised. Audiences are now more discerning, and not every collaboration will land just because it looks good on paper. Going into 2026, it feels like we’re moving into a phase of consolidation and consistency. The next wave will be about more authentic, sustained programming, whether that’s at the O2 or across the wider live and recorded music ecosystem, where South Asian audiences are invested in, not just added in for novelty value.”

Which leads us to raise again the unmeasured markets issue that Will Page identified in his report (above), this is where we at Synchtank see technology being vital.

Which leads us to discussing where growth will come from. After a conversation with Chris Carey, Founder of FFWD Group, said “The majority of streaming volume growth is coming from less financially established markets and consequently the growth in streams is not translating to growth in value. This will cause challenges for investment in new talent from emerging markets as well as putting pressure on streaming services to monetize more effectively and hopefully boosting average price per user in those territories.”

As 2025 was like no other in terms of acquisitions and mergers with indies being purchased by majors and all eyes will continue to be on the UMG/Downtown Music saga, we have no doubt more M&A will continue into 2026. Identity Music explored their predictions for the music industry in 2026 with a focus on staying independent. Liane Abrams, Marketing Manager at Identity Music, said “With so many ‘independent’ distribution, publishing and other artist services companies now being controlled by or, at the very least, associated with the major labels, staying truly independent is becoming more challenging.” Not to mention the technology that could be purchased alongside them. It begs the question, will majors continue to dominate and take the power away from independent players.

What’s Next For New Music

As we jump to the streaming conversation on predicting the future and forecasting results let’s take a step back a minute. As ‘old’ music seemed to dominate in 2025, Forbes explored the why and came to the conclusion that radio and streaming combined were to blame. “As streaming became the dominant form of music consumption, Billboard changed its formulas to weight streams more heavily over sales and radio airplay.” This means that topping the charts is reliant on streaming stats, when it used to be about record sales, not forgetting curated playlists on streaming platforms that also play a part in the longevity of songs. While we don’t personally see this as a huge negative, primarily when it comes to sync licensing (as we explored in a Synchblog last year on music resurgence), as older tracks can breathe new life and give artists a comeback. But, what this means for breakthrough artists is another story as DSPs offer the platform to be independent yet is the industry built to translate that into results…

AI-Generated vs Human-Made Tracks

According to a report released in December 2025 by Cyanite, MediaTracks and Marmoset “The State of AI Transparency in Music 2025” where they surveyed 144 music and media professionals. They found that “97% of their respondents want to know whether music is human-made or AI-generated” but interestingly the report also revealed that “49% want human-made tracks only”. Does this mean we have a market and space for AI generated music?

The report continued to explore transparency and how it’s the now expected norm. “For most professionals, transparency is about trust. Knowing how a track was made helps maintain authenticity, align with client expectations, and avoid legal risk. Several respondents noted that clients increasingly ask for proof that music is human-made, making transparency a practice requirement as much as a creative one”. When we think about the future of sync licensing in 2026 this could mean seeing more AI-generated tracks alongside human-made, but will the audience know the difference and do AI-generated tracks still hit on the emotive side. Perhaps the question when it comes to sync is that AI-generated tracks could be used to transform a human piece of music to hit different emotions.

“To create a campaign that engages, you need to tell real and compelling stories that make audiences feel as well as think. This is where high quality music, created by humans, comes in.”

Audio Network

Audio Network made a nod to AI and human-created tracks in their blog on ‘What Brands Will Sound Like in 2026’, with a focus to purpose-drive sound, as they said “To create a campaign that engages, you need to tell real and compelling stories that make audiences feel as well as think. This is where high quality music, created by humans, comes in.” They followed on to say “We promise we will never use generative AI to produce music, because we value human creativity.” This is something we see often at Synchtank: the passion behind the industry to shine a light on human-created music.

But with all this talk on transparency and the multiple settlements we saw with the industry and AI companies in 2025, the future could find space for both to exist. As Peter Csathy best said “Licensing isn’t a tax. Licensing is the price to be paid for essential ingredients. It’s the price of legality — and industry sustainability.”

“Licensing is the price to be paid for essential ingredients. It’s the price of legality — and industry sustainability.”

Peter Csathy, AI, Entertainment, Media, Marketing & Tech Expert

As always the conversation revolves around how much we are all consuming AI generated music, but should the conversation really be about AI marketing. We spoke to Chris Carey, FFWD MD, and he raised the light on, “AI marketing, efficiently and effectively promoting AI music, as the language of AI doesn’t speak music as it’s a complex thing to replicate. But marketing, algorithmic lead marketing are the ones and zeros that AI speaks very well. So, the biggest threat isn’t that AI creates the perfect song, the threat is that it takes over the space where the perfect song could have existed and crowds out human talent with efficient marketing, machine to machine.”

On The Stage

2025 saw live music boom once again for leading venues like The O2, who announced a very successful year, seeing growth in volume and in value. However we still see structural challenges for the grassroots.  As Chris Carey explains, “The challenge for live music is seen not at the top of the market but at the mid-sized venues and for the grassroots venues. This is partly a reflection of artists having a viral moment and jumping up levels more quickly, skipping stages and leapfrogging the traditional stepping stones. At the same time, grassroots venues struggle to make money as people go out less often and they can’t raise their prices in line with the cost increases”.

“The challenge for live music is seen not at the top of the market but at the mid-sized venues and for the grassroots venues. This is partly a reflection of artists having a viral moment and jumping up levels more quickly, skipping stages and leapfrogging the traditional stepping stones. At the same time, grassroots venues struggle to make money as people go out less often and they can’t raise their prices in line with the cost increases”.

Chris Carey, Founder of FFWD Group

In the UK the LIVE Trust has been formed where they take a small amount off each ticket for the biggest shows and to put that back into a fund that can help support the grassroots, mid-level, artist and ultimately pathways for talent to become the next big headliners. If you’re interested in joining more of the conversation, join Chris Carey at FFWD London to hear all things music business and the live sector on February 10th, more information can be found here.

However, Olivia Jones, Music Researcher at MIDiA Research is predicting that 2026 will see the industry redefine what “live” actually means, “2026 will see a shift to smaller, more local tours as many artists reconsider how and where they tour. 2025 was defined by massive tours by the likes of Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, who are carving out their own lanes in touring with production-heavy global spectacles. While tours of this kind will certainly continue, separate lanes will emerge led by artists for whom large-scale touring is not sustainable.” Again, more from MIDiA predictions January 15th.

As said by Epidemic Sound in their blog on ‘What are the new music trends in 2026?’ they shined a light on seeing a more eco-conscious industry “Climate change and sustainability are now too big, too important to ignore. In 2026, artists and festivals may push for more environmentally friendly touring. Solar-powered stages, carbon-offset shows, biodegradable merch, and more are all on the table.”

However, around the world, the most popular tours continue to sell out at a pace and at higher prices than we’ve seen before. The climate conversation is a must have for the live space and although we point the finger at the likes of Taylor Swift, we have to couple that conversation with the economical effect it has on each country.

Broadcast Media, TV, and Film

Now the music industry isn’t the only ones battling, embracing or hiding (however you look at it) from AI. Broadcasters, networks, and studios are also coming to terms with the battle of AI-made and human-made, especially when it comes to creatively.

Peter Csathy best explored this in his ‘brAIn’ article “Storytelling can’t just be defined by bits and bytes. Even the most AI bullish content creators will realize that it takes a village (of humans) — a vision based on real human experience — for stories to truly connect”. We couldn’t agree more, because everything we do revolves around human connection, so if that marketing messaging feels like a robot or a storyline has major holes, people won’t resonate with it, right?

“Storytelling can’t just be defined by bits and bytes. Even the most AI bullish content creators will realize that it takes a village (of humans) — a vision based on real human experience — for stories to truly connect”.

Peter Csathy, AI, Entertainment, Media, Marketing & Tech Expert

2025 also saw another year of mass layoffs, no thanks to AI, but a prediction that could ring true for the industry is how Peter Csathy says “Hollywood’s mass layoffs and increasing focus on AI for filmmaking and television production leave an opening for indie studios like Mubi to thrive with inspired, innovative and visionary content differentiation. Hollywood talent will increasingly seek them out to be part of something more creatively meaningful and ‘human’”. Could this be the year for the indie film makers to stand out against the majors?

Last year the media industry saw a huge amount of mergers and acquisitions, and according to AlixPartners in their Report ‘2026 Media & Entertainment Industry Predictions Report’ they don’t expect to see this slowing down in 2026, as they predict “More than $80 billion in media M&A deal value, with sustained increased volume across all quarters. This will be driven by a broader resurgence in M&A activity across large and small deals as media companies adjust to a new economic normal and consolidate legacy assets while investing in new technologies.”

As we start 2026 there is no doubt all eyes will continue to be on Warner Bros. Discovery and the bidding war for them. It’s hard to keep up with the live updates and to prevent this article from quickly becoming outdated we’ll leave the updates to the official media publications. Having said that we can share the top candidates from the yearly Lucas Shaw article where he interviewed 700 industry experts. The top spot for who the industry thinks will win Warner Bros. Discovery is Netflix with 51.8% of the vote.

An interesting prediction from Bernard Marr via Forbes, is that “In 2026, we will see generative video move from supporting act to leading role. Experiments using it to create filler scenes and environmental effects are breaking into primetime, as seen in Netflix’s El Eternauta.” In the Lucas Shaw article when he asked his industry experts if they use AI in their work, the majority at 565 respondents said yes. However, this seems to be a different response from within the creation itself as he explained “People are using AI as a virtual assistant to help with expenses, brainstorm ideas, write script coverage, analyze data, write memos and a whole bunch of other stuff.”

“Creators will redefine TV production: Next year we’ll see creators bypass social platforms entirely and go straight to the living room via AVOD and FAST. These streaming platforms are the new frontier as they’re more flexible, more aligned with how audiences actually watch content, and lucrative, opening new sustainable revenue streams for creators.”

Steve Nathans-Kelly

Moving to TV production releases we are going to see a new launch process next year as Steve Nathans-Kelly said via Streaming Media, “Creators will redefine TV production: Next year we’ll see creators bypass social platforms entirely and go straight to the living room via AVOD and FAST. These streaming platforms are the new frontier as they’re more flexible, more aligned with how audiences actually watch content, and lucrative, opening new sustainable revenue streams for creators.”

Gameplay-Responsive Soundtracks

According to PWC the UK gaming market is on top compared to other territories, “The UK gaming market is set to maintain its status as the largest and most well-established in Europe, with revenues forecasted to grow from £7.0bn in 2023 to £8.4bn in 2028. Social and casual gaming will dominate, driven by the accessibility of smartphones and enhanced by 5G connectivity. This growth underscores the UK’s rich heritage and continued innovation in game development.”

These digital environments will become the building blocks of the next generation of video games, where landscapes, environments, ecosystems and even the laws of physics will be defined by simple prompts.

Bernard Marr

As AI hits all elements of entertainment, Bernard Marr via Forbes also highlights predictions in gaming through his article 7 Media Trends That Will Redefine Entertainment In 2026. He says “We’ve already seen AI creating images, audio, video and text. Next up, anyone will have the power to literally create worlds, thanks to the world models being developed by companies including Google and X-AI. These digital environments will become the building blocks of the next generation of video games, where landscapes, environments, ecosystems and even the laws of physics will be defined by simple prompts. Generative AI will also allow these worlds to be populated by highly realistic NPCs with real personalities and lifelike interactions, generated through tools like Nvidia’s Avatar Cloud Engine.”

Looking at music and gaming combined, Con Raso, Managing Director of Tuned Global shares his 2026 predictions with Security Brief and when it comes to gaming, Raso sees a spot to bend the rules of sync licensing and see more gameplay-responsive soundtracks as he says “”That could be as simple as an AI bot looking at the people that are in the gameplay and adapting the music style and the music itself to actually align with the gameplay itself.”

Niche Sports

As reported in Streaming Media and their roundup on predictions for the year, they reported that they expect to see a boom in niche sports, “As the rights to top-tier leagues grow too costly for all but the biggest media players, 2026 will see increased investment in mid-tier and niche sports with passionate followings.” They mentioned the likes of tennis and volleyball growing in popularity.

According to Nielsen, “Streaming is changing the game for live sports through multiplatform viewing and creating new pathways for engagement by reaching wider audiences.” Which makes us think this is the reason for the boom in niche sports as they become more accessible.

Nielsen also highlighted the sponsor opportunities, “Sports sponsors have valuable exposure opportunities in leagues like the NBA and MLB, representing $515 million in media value for brands in 2025.” Could this then mean more sync opportunities, well we hope so!

Wrap Up: The Future of Music & Media in 2026

As we head into 2026, it’s clear that the future of music and media won’t be shaped by technology alone, but by how the industry chooses to use it. AI will continue to evolve workflows and creative possibilities, but trust, transparency, and licensing remain the foundations everything else is built on.

Across music, media, gaming, and sport, the same themes keep emerging: consolidation alongside new opportunities for independents, sustainability influencing live and touring decisions, and audiences gravitating toward more authentic, human-led storytelling. While platforms and business models shift, the demand for creativity that feels real hasn’t gone anywhere.

These predictions are a snapshot, not a final word and the conversation will keep moving as 2026 unfolds. If you spot insights or perspectives we’ve missed, we’d love to hear from you.

The future isn’t being shaped by one voice or one technology, but by the collective choices the industry makes next.