James Blake has shared a reflection on the current state of the music industry, which is once again quite depressing. The artist who has been so critical of the functioning of the music industry, which disadvantages composers like him, now speaks about the general distrust around data, criticism and the authenticity of music itself.
Specifically, Blake criticizes positive comments from fans on social media, many of which are “fake” and attempt to build a narrative of enthusiasm around an artist that influences public perception. He also points out the artificiality of the figures for YouTube and other streaming platforms, “because labels buy views” or “turn to bot farms to drive discovery.”
Although Blake points to the artificiality of commentary and discovery, he also recognizes that these types of practices in entertainment “have always existed.” It has been seen recently in the case of Geese.
Where Blake is most debatable is in his accusation that record reviews are “bought” by record labels because “blogs and magazines have stopped making money.” Although he later indicates that he does not intend to generalize, he does suggest that the “prevalence of the algorithm and bots” facilitates the manipulation of audiences.
The artist summarizes his vision of the current musical ecosystem like this: “If you are an artist, remember that in 2026 there is not a single part of the system that is not manipulated. You are probably doing better than you think.”
Blake has provoked the response of at least one renowned music journalist, the American Philip Sherburne, who has not held his tongue: “James Blake is an idiot if he really believes that credible media (yes, they still exist) work like this,” and he emphasizes that “respectable” media like Pitchfork or The Guardian do not publish paid reviews.
Musician Jacques Greene, for his part, comments that in Europe he has seen for the first time media asking for money for “cover features,” and Sherburne responds by criticizing the practice for being unethical by blurring the line between advertising and editorial content.
Blake has pointed out that, although he knows that there are still journalists who do not charge for their criticism, they are increasingly rare. “I feel bad for underpaid critics and journalists with integrity.”
James Blake took to his Instagram story to call out the state of the music industry’s metrics, one by one.
“Can’t trust a review because blogs/mags stopped making money so journalists now get paid off by labels…can’t trust a comment section…YouTube numbers…streaming… pic.twitter.com/jw0AZ79rpD
— Pigeons & Planes (@PigsAndPlans) June 22, 2026
