What can we expect for music in 2026? Here are a few predictions – National

The last 12 months in music were eventful, to say the least. We saw the against-all-odds successful Oasis reunion, the Sean Combs trial, and, of course, the rise of artificial intelligence and the fears of how it may impact the entirety of music going forward. What can we expect in 2026? I’ve got a few predictions — which, if I’m honest, are just guesses given the volatile and unpredictable nature of the music industry. Nevertheless, here we go.

U2 will return

Outside of their 40-date run at the Sphere in Las Vegas, U2 has been largely absent. The last album of new material was Songs of Experience in 2017, leaving fans instead with Songs of Surrender (a 2023 album of re-recordings) and How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb (a 2024 collection of odds and ends accompanying the 20th anniversary re-release of How to Assemble an Atomic Bomb). Both were placeholders to keep fans occupied while drummer Larry Mullen Jr. dealt with some serious back and neck issues. Bono has given us a few updates along the way, saying the band was working on a back-to-basics rock album and that Mullen’s health was improving and he was almost ready to return to work full-time.

Right now, the runway is pretty clear for a new U2 album and world tour. Yes, Oasis is pretty much guaranteed to continue their reunion tour victory lap, and we’ll see more shows from Guns N’ Roses, Eagles, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden, Aerosmith, Bruce Springsteen, Fleetwood Mac, Paul McCartney, and Pearl Jam have yet to make their intentions known. And the Rolling Stones have said they’ll be staying home because Keith Richards can’t commit to another round of shows.

Things are wide open for a return for U2. I wouldn’t be shocked if there was some kind of announcement in February, accompanied by a new single and then an album by summer.

Radiohead will return — maybe

To be fair, Radiohead has already returned with a short tour after a long hiatus. Might this mean more shows and — gasp! — a new album for the first time in a decade? They’re a sneaky bunch who love surprises. We’ll see.

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AI will become an even greater concern

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File this one under “duh.” With the rise of generative AI platforms like Udio and Suno, and with two of the major labels settling lawsuits and working on licensing agreements, AI will loom even larger in music. While some will use the technology as a tool much in the same way we learned to deal with technological advances like the synthesizer, the drum machine and sampling, there will be many abuses and crimes, including plenty of streaming fraud.

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Deezer, the Paris-based streamer, says its AI detection software has determined that as of November, almost 50,000 new AI songs are being uploaded to the platform each day, with plenty of tracks masquerading as material from flesh-and-blood artists. That is an increase from 10,000 per day in January 2025. Worse, Music Business Worldwide says 97 per cent of listeners can’t tell the difference between real and fake music. As one analyst put it, this kind of fraud and cybercrime has now been industrialized, with streaming fraud siphoning away at least US$1 billion annually.

There will be knock-on effects from this. Better AI detection. Demands to label songs and artists as AI-generated. More stringent curation standards for playlists and music discovery. And since AI artists can’t actually tour and perform live, their reach will be limited to online. Let’s hope that radio stays away from this music, too, although the taboo has already been broken by the success of the fake country artist Breaking Rust.

Rock will make a comeback

When Donald Trump was elected in 2016 and the Conservatives were struggling in the U.K., conditions were ripe for a rise in angry, aggressive music, something that we’ve traditionally seen when a Republican is in the White House and a Conservative lives at 10 Downing Street. But it never happened. Instead, we got a lot of sad mid-tempo bedroom pop from artists who complained of being stressed out (cf. Twenty One Pilots) and a bunch of 26-year-olds pining for the days when they were young. Then COVID-19 appeared, changing everything about society for two solid years.

Now, though, we have a second Trump administration that seems hell-bent on dismantling American life. The war in Ukraine shows no sign of ending and China is flexing its muscles around Taiwan. There’s talk of a bad recession. It’s a scary time, and it’s starting to be reflected in the type of music being made.

There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence that Gen Z is embracing rock, both in terms of classic acts and new ones, thanks to TikTok and Instagram. If you were at an Oasis show last year, you’ll have seen plenty of people who weren’t even born when Definitely Maybe came out in 1994. The Cure has found an audience with a brand new generation. There were an incredible number of young people at the limited number of AC/DC shows this year. New bands like the Beaches, Spiritbox, Ghost, Sleep Token and Turnstile are feeding into the demand.

Turns out Gen Zers love ’90s music as much as millennials and Gen Xers. They’re also discovering the rock of the early 2000s in droves, too, thanks to artists like Billie Eilish declaring her love of the Strokes. Mate this with Gen Zers tired of an all-digital world picking up real musical instruments again, and there’s hope for us rock and rollers. I wonder how enrolment is at those schools of rock that seem to be in every city.

Physical music will continue to be hot

Yes, vinyl outsold compact discs in Canada for the second year in a row, but don’t count them out. Young people — always the drivers of musical trends — are continuing to buy more music on physical formats. After a lifetime of dealing with music as an ephemeral and evanescent thing, many are discovering the wonders of ownership over access. Not only will vinyl records and CDs continue to sell, watch for more special collectible and limited-edition releases. Even owning a cassette without having anything to play it on is becoming a strong cultural statement.

A surprising number of people — upwards of 50 per cent — don’t even own a turntable. Vinyl represents a physical manifestation of what’s available on streaming platforms. This leaves the record (or CD) available for decorative display, allowing someone to point to a shelf full of records and say, “See? I love music so much that I have two metres of it on my wall!”

Slow listening

In the olden days, we listened to physical albums over and over again, hoping to like as many tracks as possible. We paid attention and didn’t skip something we judged unlikeable after five seconds. Physical media encourages slow listening. Who wants to get up and cross the room to move the tone arm on the turntable?

The continuing rise of lossless audio

For years, too many people thought the audio of MP3s was good enough. And to be fair, compressed music files were really the only option, given limited bandwidth, expensive data plans and small hard drives. Now, though, most of those problems are gone, opening the way to full-fidelity, and in some cases, better-than-CD quality, digital files. Even the streaming platforms have upped their bitrates to something that finally sounds like it did coming out of the studio.

An offshoot of that is the possible resurrection of wired headphones. Bluetooth headphones and earbuds are great, but Bluetooth doesn’t have the bandwidth to transmit lossless files like FLAC. If you want the full effect, you gotta plug in a set of cans.

The hot new sound? Afrobeat

The last couple of years have seen a tremendous rise in music from Latin artists and K-pop. Next up will be the spread of African superstars like Burna Boy, Davido, Tyla, WITCH, Tems and others. There will be a Bad Bunny-like breakthrough by someone, probably via TikTok or Instagram. Then look out.

We’ll see what happens. Let’s meet here in 12 months to see if I’m right or wrong.