Shooter Jennings strongly believes that the music industry – or at the very least, the compensation aspect of it – is broken. The famed producer and son of Waylon Jennings is one of the most respected individuals in the music industry. In just the past couple of years, he’s helped produce projects for Lukas Nelson, Charley Crockett, Jake Owen, Benjamin Tod and the Turnpike Troubadours. And you may have heard that he produced an album called Songbird, which was made up of never-before-heard songs from Waylon that were recorded in his prime and never released. And more Waylon records are on the way soon. Through his many years as a producer – and recording himself – Shooter has become more than familiar with the art of producing. Jennings has become a master at the craft, and many of the best acts in country music recognize the talent he possesses. Some might think that good production means recordings that sound flawless. Shooter Jennings knows that the greatest production is actually creating songs that sound human. That’s why it hurts him to see the direction that the music industry has headed. AI has begun to infiltrate the space, and he hates that. The compensation model has made it near impossible for artists and songwriters to make a living, and to Shooter, that’s laughable. It was recently announced that Spotify and the massive record label Universal Music Group were working on a way for fans to use AI to make their own remixes and covers from songs directly on Spotify’s platform. And it’s fair to assume that other labels like Sony and Warner will be right behind UMG. Of course, this new technology is pitched as a “great way for artists to increase their streaming revenue,” although, as Shooter points out, streaming platforms could just pay a fair amount to publishers and songwriters. As he explained in a recent social media post: “It’s a joke. The music business will stay in this ‘nobody’s making money on albums so you gotta tour non stop if you want to survive’ until artists wake up to how they are stealing all of the revenue from us and pull out of streaming all together. This isn’t a ‘renegotiate through federal pressure’ thing, this is a ‘this is toxic and it’s killing art’ kind of situation.” It’s a joke. The music business will stay in this “nobody’s making money on albums so you gotta tour non stop if you want to survive” until artists wake up to how they are stealing all of the revenue from us and pull out of streaming all together. This isn’t a “renegotiate… https://t.co/VgaNebJuS0 — Shooter Jennings (@shooterjennings) May 21, 2026 In other words, Jennings wishes that artists would stop sending their new music to streaming just because that’s how it is now. In a perfect, artist-trying-to-make-money world, everyone would handle their releases like Johnny Blue Skies (the artist formerly known as Sturgill Simpson) did with Mutiny After Midnight. That album prioritized physical media and is still not available on streaming… and it still led to one of Sturgill’s biggest releases of his career. Jennings went on to compare music streaming to streaming services, like Netflix. He pointed out that streamers have to pay big money to license films for limited amounts of time. With the music streaming model, all music is just available forever, and it’s seemingly forever. Another social media user came out and combated the point that Jennings was trying to make by implying that the producer was basically saying “only the rich should have access to music.” That argument fired Shooter up, and he clapped back with this: “This is exactly what I’ve been saying for a long time. Prior to streaming, people expected to pay for music people worked hard to create. Now, because it’s been basically free for years, we now have this ‘have’ versus ‘have not’ argument turning artists who create work into the oppressor or elitist for complaining that 99.9% of the reimbursement is being stolen for their music. I got an idea, how about I pay you $7 bucks a month and you come repair my roof, unclog my toilets and replace my air filters as many times as I ask you a month. And then if you b*tch about it I’ll say ‘Oh so only rich people get their roofs repaired?’ Get the f*** out of here with this nonsense.” This is exactly what I’ve been saying for a long time. Prior to Streaming people expected to pay for music people worked hard to create. Now because it’s been basically free for years we now have this “have” vs “have not” argument turning artists who create work into the… https://t.co/GRdzCG91yJ — Shooter Jennings (@shooterjennings) May 22, 2026 In essence, Shooter Jennings is saying that the music streaming model is giving fans too much value for what they are getting. And granted, as an avid music listener myself, I couldn’t believe that I got to access basically everything that’s ever existed for a relatively low monthly price when streaming was first introduced. It’s a dream come true for fans, but a nightmare for those that make the music. For as much time and money and effort and energy and talent (I could go on) that it takes to make music, it has essentially gone from a sort of rare and valuable product (anyone can make music, but few make good music), to something everyone expects as a given. Back in the day you could always just flip on FM radio, but if you wanted to curate your own music, you had to buy it. As a kid, you had to save up 20 bucks to buy a CD from Walmart. Now, you just create a free Spotify account, listen to a few commercials, and never spend a dime on music ever again. Pretty good deal for the listener, eh? Shooter Jennings thinks the industry has reached a breaking point, and perhaps Sturgill Simpson laid out the way to fight back earlier this year. It’ll just take other brave artists – and producers like Shooter Jennings – to follow suit.The post Shooter Jennings Calls For Artists To Fight Against AI & The Music Streaming Model: “Toxic & It’s Killing Art” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

I wonder why all of these graduating students who are worried about finding jobs out of college keep booing commencement speakers that champion AI? I just can’t put my finger on it. For their 2026 Spring Commencement ceremony, Middle Tennessee State University had Scott Borchetta – founder, chairman, and CEO of Big Machine Records – give the commencement address. It’s a move that makes a lot of sense, considering that the College of Media and Entertainment at MTSU is named in his honor. What didn’t make a lot of sense was how the CEO of Big Machine Records scared a lot of graduating students with his speech. Like a lot of commencement speeches that have gone viral in 2026, he leaned heavily into AI, and described it as a “delivery tool that everyone has to embrace and understand.” Anytime he mentioned artificial intelligence, he was met with restless murmurs and boos. Especially after he delivered these lines: “We are the agents of change, and the agents of next. This industry will change on you in a heartbeat. It has already changed more in the last 10 years than in the 50 years prior. Streaming rewrote the economics. Social media rewrote the discovery model. AI is rewriting production as we sit here.” Once the booing picked up, Borchetta got weirdly defensive. Obviously, if there was anyone that knows about the advances of AI in the music industry, it’d be him. But the way he presented it to the graduating class didn’t land softly, and the way he responded to the booing didn’t help at all: “I know it. Deal with it. It’s a tool. Like I said, you can hear me now, or you can pay me later. Do something about it. It’s a tool. Make it work for you… the things you learned in your first year here may already be obsolete.” @couriernewsroomCEO of Big Machine Records Scott Borchetta told students to “deal with it” after he was booed for applauding AI during his commencement speech at Middle Tennessee State University. ♬ original sound – Courier Newsroom Sheesh. Nothing like telling a bunch of kids the education they just shelled out a hundred thousand dollars for is obsolete. Inspiring stuff… Why is talking about AI when addressing graduating college students not working out well across the board? Well, it probably has something to do with how the technology has already negatively affected the job market. Many entry level jobs are being replaced with AI as businesses cut costs… so talking about that with young people who just dedicated four years of their life and paid thousands of dollars for a degree (especially in the creative space) might not be the move. You can view Borchetta’s full commencement speech here:   All these CEOs and business people touting the power of AI to college students need to take a lesson from Eric Church’s commencement speech. It’s not about talking down to the graduates… it’s about lifting them up: “When all six are in tune, the chords they make can stop a conversation cold, carry a broken person through the worst night of their life, or make a roomful of strangers feel for three minutes like they’ve known each other forever.  If one is off, the whole chord unravels. Not gradually, politely. The moment you strike it, you know. I believe your life runs on this principle.” The post Big Machine Records CEO, Scott Borchetta, Booed At Commencement Ceremony For Remarks On AI: “Deal With It… It’s A Tool” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Get ready for a big second half of 2026. As we’ve seen so many times in the past few years, 2026 has been filled to the brim with stellar album after stellar album from week to week. Despite the controversy as of late, Zach Bryan officially kicked things off on January 9th with the release of his stellar sixth studio album, With Heaven On Top. Later that month, we also saw brilliant debuts from the likes of Kashus Culpepper on Act I and the severely underrated duo Low Gap on Geneva. The rest of the winter months would be highlighted by the likes of Megan Moroney snagging her first all-genre #1 with her junior record, Cloud 9, Clay Street Unit proving why they’re one of the most underrated bands on Sin & Squalor, Luke Combs continuing his hot streak with the release of his “comeback” album, The Way I Am, and Flatland Cavalry and Drayton Farley ending March on a high note with brilliant albums of their own on both Work of Heart and A Heavy Duty Heart. Of course, you can’t not mention the convoluted rollout of Sturgill Simpson’s latest outing as Johnny Blue Skies on Mutiny After Midnight, Ella Langley’s record-shattering release of Dandelion, Ernest setting sail on Deep Blue and Kacey Musgraves’ feature-filled outing on Middle of Nowhere. Simply put, it’s been a massive year already for country music, both commercially and critically, and it’s honestly just getting more jam-packed from here. May closes out with a bang next week, with Willie Nelson releasing his mind-blowing 156th-career album, Kip Moore dropping Reason to Believe and an unearthed collection of Don Williams songs slated to release. On June 12th alone, we have Koe Wetzel dropping his recently-announced album, The Night Champion, Midland returning to their roots on their new album, Stages and Keith Urban making the bold move to release a yacht rock cover album. Throw in the likes of Colby Acuff planning to release his seventh album since 2020 on HANDMADE HORSEPOWER, reigning CMA Group of the Year winners, The Red Clay Strays releasing their junior album, Cody Johnson closing the month on his long-awaited return, Banks of the Trinity, you have a month for the ages. July is not quite as stacked but still busy. Charles Wesley Godwin headlines with the recently-announced Christian Name, with Carter Faith dropping a deluxe edition of her ACM Album of the Year-nominated debut album, Cherry Valley , and Waylon Wyatt and Buffalo Traffic Jam dropping their debut albums to close out the month. As of now, August is highlighted by Silverada (formerly Mike and the Moonpies) dropping their second album under the Silverada title, Living Proof. From there, it’s a bit unclear what the final quarter will bring. However, it’s speculated that Shane Smith & the Saints, Cross Canadian Ragweed, Wyatt Flores, Waylon Jennings and more are dropping projects as well. May May 29 Dream Chaser – Willie Nelson Reason to Believe – Kip Moore Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes – Don Williams Ain’t Dead Yet – Joshua Ray Walker I HOPE THIS HELPS – Alana Springsteen June June 2 HANDMADE HORSEPOWER – Colby Acuff June 5 Grateful – The Red Clay Strays Union Made – Old Crow Medicine Show Bridges – Jo Dee Messina Live at Third Man Records – Sierra Ferrell A Sign In The Weather – Bella White Heavy Thrill – Caleb Caudle Tulsa Turn Around  – Jason Eady Signs – Charlie Marie June 12 The Night Champion – Koe Wetzel Stages – Midland Flow State – Keith Urban California Sunrise (10th Anniversary Edition) – Jon Pardi Breakfield – Breakfield Fool in a King Size Bed – Kenny Whitmire (EP) June 19 The Story of Michael and Tanya – The War And Treaty June 26 Banks of the Trinity – Cody Johnson Pink Pocket Pistol – Willow Avalon Then Again – Rodney Crowell Good for the Soul – Frank Ray July July 3 Something to Say – Blake Whiten July 17 The Great Unknowing – John R. Miller (Digital release) One Track Mind – Gary Stewart 15 – Scotty McCreery July 24 Christian Name – Charles Wesley Godwin Cherry Valley Forever – Carter Faith Little Miss Twain –  Shania Twain Sins of the Father – Brantley Gilbert Dustpiles – Waylon Wyatt July 31 Pictures of You – Buffalo Traffic Jam The Outlaw Cherie Lee & Other Western Tales – Shaboozey August August 7 Living Proof – Silverada Dark Horses – Corb Lund Piecemeal – Joshua Quimby August 14 Half Moon – Maggie Rose Ashley Cooke – Ashley Cooke August 20-21 Trespasser – Grace Potter Tonight’s News – Ken Pomeroy (EP) Young – Dan + Shay August 28 Country Desire – Alicia Blue Signs of Life – Trey Pendley September September 18 Signs – Luke Bryan October October 2 Sunriser – Lee Brice The post Every Country Album Set To Release In The Second Half Of 2026 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Kyle passed away on May 21, 2026. Continue reading…

"What a legend. Prayers to his family." Continue reading…