What Should I Write About This Year?

I've got some ideas for 2022, but before I dive in, I'd love to hear yours.

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The turn of the new year usually brings a raft of prediction posts from scribes like me. These days, though, it’s nearly impossible to project what’ll happen unless you’ve got a degree in epidemiology. Can you think of a single industry prognostication from January 2020 worth its weight in ink just a couple months later?

So, instead of reading the tea leaves, I’m simply going to ask what you’d like me to cover—both in these Tuesday installments of the Zogblog and in the Friday serializations of my book We Are All Musicians Now. I’m brimming with ideas of my own, but would love to hear your thoughts before I dig into 2022.

Would you like to see me lean a little more into features? Or toward commentary? Should I do an earnings list or two? Which stories did you absolutely love in 2021? Which did you despise? What topics am I not covering enough? Covering too much? Feel free to respond via email or by leaving a comment below.

In case you’re among the raft of new readers who’ve joined in the past couple months, here’s a rundown of some topics I’ve covered since coming over to Substack midway through 2021.

I interviewed Hanson and concluded that the group behind “Mmmbop” also helped invent social media. MC Sha-Rock told me the story of how she became the first queen of hip-hop. My conversations with Delta Rae inspired the idea that, for creators, a fan club is basically universal basic income. Speaking of which, Amanda Palmer explained why she hates the word “superfan.”

I also wrote a lot about concerts and vaccine mandates. I revealed why Taylor Swift’s latest album is actually a baseball card. I told the story of how Michael Jackson got his master recordings back. And I kept pounding my theory that the Wu-Tang Clan’s one-of-a-kind album was actually the first NFT.

I’ll leave it there and eagerly await your reply. And even if you don’t feel compelled to drop me a line, I want to thank you so much for reading. Your support makes independent journalism like mine possible. If you’re enjoying the blog, consider supporting the Zog—upgrading to a paid subscription comes with more perks, and it’s as easy as clicking this button:

Above all, please spread the word—to friends, family, colleagues, random panlists—really, anyone who’s interested in music, business and thoughtful writing. That’s how we keep this thing going in the long term.

If you found this post informative, enlightening or otherwise interesting, please share it. And click here to subscribe to weekly serialized installments of my new book, We Are All Musicians Now.