January
We began these monthly editorials in December 2023 and we are happy that they were popular enough for us to continue all the way into 2025. January, of course, is named after Janus, the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, and I am sure we can all picture a couple of two-faced people at least! I’m doing this opening editorial of the year while a storm is howling outside and it’s New Year’s Day morning. My teenage son is still in bed (of course) and the cats are lazily watching the world go by. Musically, we are looking ahead to a busy January and we are plotting the next stage of world dominance (lol). Musically, for the first time in twenty years, the BPI’s music market report for 2024 showed positive numbers for both physical sales and the consumption of UK-recorded music. According to the BPI, sales and streams of UK-recorded music increased 9.7% over the previous year to 200.5 million albums (or their equivalent), continuing a decade of steady rise. The unparalleled ascent and encouragement of women in the industry is credited with contributing to the success of UK music in 2024. However, there is a cloud on that positive horizon and that is the presence of AI. There are indications of a change in UK copyright law that could allow the introduction of AI models to create music without payment (I refer to this CITY AM piece by Ward-Brennan, here), placing the livelihoods of songwriters at risk. Creatively, the music industry can be at the forefront of the best that is British (or American, as over 70% of our daily readers are from the US), musicians, songwriters and all those involved in the industry require protection from AI in the same way that writers do. For the record, we use zero AI in the writing of anything here. We occasionally use AI (Artfy) for the visuals. For example, the Christmas image of the room that we used for the 2024 reflection piece was AI. Our main images used for merchandise—our witch on the mic, Alice the Red Queen on guitar, etc.—are all human created using an art package. So my first message of the year is to press for legislation to protect musicians and writers from AI. AI is a tool to be used for us, but it is not a substitute for human creativity.
I am finishing with one of my favourite songs in case old acquaintances are forgotten—those we love and have lost never are. But I wish they could get here if they can.
Happy New Year to all out there in reader land all over the world.
Mark C. Chambers