https://grainworks.tech/tags/culture/ Recent content in Culture on grainworks Hugo en-US Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://grainworks.tech/posts/zero-percent-interest-rate-music/ Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000 https://grainworks.tech/posts/zero-percent-interest-rate-music/ <p>Between roughly 2012 and 2022, an extraordinary thing happened to pop music. The cost of borrowing money fell to zero, and the major labels borrowed as much as they could. Not to build studios or develop artists — those are cheap. They borrowed to buy catalogs. To acquire publishing rights. To consolidate market share. They borrowed at near-zero interest rates and deployed the capital on a scale the industry had never seen.</p>