From AI upheavals to increasing consolidation, the music industry has been going through some fundamental shifts over the last several years. So how have these changes affected the indie world? To answer that, we asked 135 of Billboard ‘s 2026 Indie Power Players to discuss how the rapidly transforming industry has impacted their companies and the indie ecosystem more broadly. What we got back were a range of responses: some optimistic, others a bit gloomier, most a mixture of the two. Indeed, many of the issues affecting the indie space in 2026 are double-edged. While many bemoaned the flood of content on DSPs, including AI slop, others believe this will create more demand for authentic artists with a point of view — i.e. the types of acts indies have traditionally excelled at developing.…