The Wheeler Centre

Three music journalists explore how criticism, authority and taste are being reshaped in an era where anyone can speak, and nothing stays still for long.

As music listening and discovery have shifted online, so too has the question of who gets to decide what is worthy. Social media has opened up criticism to anyone with an opinion, while traditional publications that once acted as gatekeepers have all but collapsed. In this rapidly changing landscape, three music journalists come together to unpack what it means to write music criticism today. What new opportunities are emerging? How is the role and value of criticism shifting? And what is at stake when writing that interrogates, contextualises and challenges begins to fade from view? Broadcaster Sosephina Fuamoli, music and pop culture reporter Al Newstead and writer and critic Sarah Smith join moderator Simon Winkler for a conversation about the past, present and future of music criticism.