Anthony Fantano is the biggest music critic on YouTube, and the self-described “internet’s busiest music nerd.” The New York Times calls him “The Only Music Critic Who Matters (if You’re Under 25),” and his show The Needle Drop has over 3 million subscribers. Fantano is known for his provocative takes, like “AI Music is Evil” and “Taylor Swift is a Coward.” He joined Current Affairs editor-in-chief Nathan J. Robinson and associate editor Alex Skopic to talk about the state of the music industry, how streaming platforms exploit artists, and whether Zohran Mamdani should rap again.🎹 The Needle Drop: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/theneedledrop" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/theneedledrop</a>🎹 Fantano: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@fantano" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/@fantano</a>0:00–7:28 What Right Do Critics Have to Judge Music?7:28–10:34 AI Music and How It Uses Artists’ Work10:34–17:13 Why So Much Music in 2025 Feels “Mid”17:13–23:58 Have Music Critics Become Too Nice?23:58–32:29 Censorship, Algorithms, and Political Lyrics32:29–37:13 Paying Artists Fairly and Why They Should Unionize37:13–40:39 Zohran Mamdani’s Rap Career40:39–44:53 Underrated Artists Fantano Recommends🦩SUBSCRIBE TO CURRENT AFFAIRS MAGAZINE: <a href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership" target="_blank">https://www.currentaffairs.org/membership</a>🦩 PATREON: <a href="https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/c/CurrentAffairs</a>🦩THE MYTH OF AMERICAN IDEALISM: <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/" target="_blank">https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738224/the-myth-of-american-idealism-by-noam-chomsky-and-nathan-j-robinson/</a>

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Anthony Fantano on the Exploitative Music Industry and Zohran's Rap Career

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