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The Documentary: The Pop Star and the Prophet

Sam York in studio

13/10/2015 GMT

The Pop Star and the Prophet

BBC World Service - The Documentary, The Pop Star and the Prophet

Sam York meets Jacques Attali, who predicted the music industry’s crisis back in 1976.

In 1976 French economist Jacques Attali predicted the crisis facing the music industry today. Aspiring pop star Sam York goes to meet him, looking for insights into his own future

Nearly 40 years ago, French polymath Jacques Attali wrote a book called Noise which predicted a "crisis of proliferation" for recorded music – in which its value would plummet. As music sales went into free-fall at the turn of the century, his prediction seemed eerily resonant to up-and-coming singer-songwriter Sam York. Now struggling to earn a living as a musician, York visits Attali to help get an insight into his own future, and learns that music itself may hold clues to what is about to happen in the wider world.

Along the way, York meets Al Doyle from Hot Chip and folk singer Frank Turner, who reveal that - despite being relatively well known - they still find it difficult to earn a living from their "stardom". Doyle says he struggled to afford a one-bedroom flat in London. It is a world away from the rock-and-roll lifestyle we might think successful musicians enjoy.

(Photo: Sam York in studio)

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