Guest
Gigi Johnson
Gigi Johnson is Rethink Next, as introduced on the show.
Episodes (1)
Gigi Johnson of Rethink Next explains how algorithms, AI overviews and glut are reshaping music discovery, and how artists can build direct fan relationships.
Questions these episodes answer
Why are so many new songs released every day now?
Johnson says making music used to require expensive studio time, but digital tools have made release nearly free, so about 120,000 new tracks are legally released every day, on top of a growing share made with AI assistance.
How does listening behavior affect what a streaming algorithm recommends next?
Johnson explains that how someone listens to the first 30 seconds of a song tells the platform whether the match worked. Keep listening and the system reinforces that artist and similar songs; cut a track off early and it becomes a strong negative signal that removes the artist from future recommendations.
Is it still possible to tell whether a piece of music or video is AI generated?
Johnson says it used to be easy to spot AI content but that line is blurring on a weekly basis, since AI is now bundled into most creator tools, from short clips to special effects, so the more useful question becomes what is at the core of a piece of work.
Why do fewer music searches lead people to an artist's own website anymore?
Johnson says a large and growing share of search now ends in a zero-click AI overview that scrapes information for a single answer instead of sending someone to an artist's page or ticket link, which breaks the traditional path from an article or curator to a fan taking action.
What should musicians do to stay discoverable as AI search changes things?
Johnson recommends artists build direct one-to-one relationships with fans rather than counting on a platform to keep recommending them, and suggests regularly searching your own name and albums to see what AI tools currently say about you.