It’s late December 2023. The presents are wrapped, the cookies have been set out, and Brenda Lee’s 65-year-old song “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has overtaken Mariah Carey’s holiday juggernaut “All I Want for Christmas Is You” on the Billboard Hot 100. Streaming created this bizarre holiday miracle, just like streaming has changed everything about how the entire music industry defines success.

Presented by Deloitte

Episode art by Vicky Leta