“I’m looking forward to even more of a breakdown of genres — collaborating or combining different styles of music.” – Tinashe
?“It would be nice to see rock come back in a fresh way, like Kings of Leon or The Killers did when they broke out. We haven’t had a great rock band in a while.” – Conrad Sewell
?“Independent artists will increasingly release music as they make it. Releasing singles every month or two keeps them constantly engaged with their fans.” – Nic Harcourt, radio personality/manager
“There will be a continued focus on creating better music services that provide unprecedented choices for listeners. We will also see major brands engaging more fans with music as they attempt to cut through the clutter of today’s digital lifestyle. We see those label and artist partnerships evolving to be far more creative connections between brand, artist and listener.” – Rich Riley, CEO, Shazam
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“As first-generation virtual reality starts to release, we’re going to get an initial taste of how VR will eventually redefine our industry.” – Adam Leber, manager
“Hopefully quality and substance will continue to emerge from real artists with strong visions.” – Brandon Creed, manager
“Artists will be more prone to show their vulnerability and less so their materialistic gains.” – Mike Guirguis, manager
“As consumer use of music streaming mirrors TV and film viewing habits on services like Hulu and Netflix, new fans will discover older artists’ catalogs.” – Jared Paul, manager
“The industry will finally get onboard with streaming’s potential. Managers and artist reps will rely more on data and analytics to help leverage their way to success.” – Dina Lapolt, attorney
“Hip-hop dominance is sure to continue as we see the blurring of musical genres spearheaded by such artists as Future, Kendrick Lamar and Travi$ Scott.” – Joey Arbagey, executive vp A&R, Epic
“DJs will continue to push themselves. Where is the female DJ who really moves the needle? I bet we find her in 2016.” – Chris Booker, radio personality
“A major tech company or a cell provider will make a multibillion-dollar play for one of the few independent streaming companies. They are extremely valuable marketing tools.” – Doug Davis, attorney
“Next year will be big for amazing voices where there’s not too much production going on, just raw, pure voices that have a lot of character. Also, Alessia Cara is going to completely kill it.” – Tove Lo
This story originally appeared in the Jan. 16 issue of Billboard.