If you happen to go looking for your kids this Summer, you’ll probably find them in front of an iPhone camera directing and starring in short action films, performed to songs you’ve never heard of. Yes, they’re sort of wasting time. But they’re also defining the future of music and how songs become hits. And increasingly, that involves quirky dance crazes (that often last only a few days), lots of memes, and genre-busting blends that radio station programmers would have never thought to mix, like the hip-hop, country blend of Old Town Road. The Ringer on How TikTok Became the Future of the Music Industry. “The beauty of platforms is that they mold how art gets created. Netflix opened up an entire creative class of high-production-value episodic content. YouTube created a class of five-minute content. I’m curious if TikTok will create the 15 or 60 second song.” (It’s less about the length of the song and more about allowing the listener to become a creator too. That said, after two weeks of TikTok Summer in my house, I’m ready for the one second song.)

+ The Walkman just turned 40 — here’s how listening to music has changed over the years. (I’m so cutting edge that I bought my first Walkman back when it was still called a Soundabout…)