What Will Music Look Like This Year? 3 Predictions for 2017

Olivia here. Whilst I don’t profess to have a crystal ball with which I can predict the year ahead in music, I have given a few educated guesses about what could happen in 2017. Read on to see if you agree!

1.Music will become increasingly political

It’s a no brainer that, given the political climate of the past year, that musicians will respond to events like Donald Trump’s election and Brexit with a renewed sense of anger and injustice. It’s not as though music wasn’t political last year however, and whilst protest songs are often associated with folk and punk music, it was RnB and hip hop that took centre stage in 2016. The series of killings that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement saw more black artists (particularly in the US) releasing music that reflected the black experience – with trailblazers like Kendrick Lamar demonstrating that experimental and political music can still have a huge commercial appeal. This gave the cue for even more established pop artists such as Beyoncé to release increasingly political music concerned with the experience of black women in particular. Expect more in 2017 as Donald Trump takes office in 10 days.

2. Grime will continue it’s meteoric rise

Grime has been around for ages. What’s new, is that those artists who were around in its first wave in the noughties are now at the top of their game creatively; artists like Skepta and Stormzy are now household names. As BBC Extra’s Charlie Sloth suggests, the scene has now moved from its London home and is fast becoming an international phenomenon, with scenes emerging in Australia, Japan, and Germany.

3. More women in electronic music

Once a male dominated field, 2016 saw more and more women gaining recognition for their work in electronic music and DJing, such as Anja Schneider and The Black Madonna. Of course, electronic music has always been home to female pioneers such as Delia Derbyshire of the BBC’s Radiophonic Workshop and Clara Rockmore of theremin fame, however, 2016 saw these pioneering women enter the spotlight, as well as non gender binary and trans musicians like Anohni. Expect (or hope) to see the end of electronic bro culture this year.

Let’s hope these all come true!