Record labels and tech firms are wrestling one another for power, artists are ditching traditional paths to fame, and live music may never look the same again. Where do we go from here? Rolling Stone’s second-ever Future 25 celebrates the brightest, boldest ideas tearing up the floorboards of the music industry right now. The 2020 Future 25 are activists, entrepreneurs, and engineers; they are business leaders as much as they are iconoclasts and inventors. From designing viral shows on Fortnite to reviving old hits to matchmaking artists with their dream managers, these 25 individuals share a deep ambition to reinvigorate the behind-the-scenes of creativity. And when Covid-19 pulled the curtain on live concerts earlier this year, they rolled up their sleeves and got to work whipping up daring new revenue streams, unlikely partnerships, and business models — all of which will set the stage for the music industry’s next evolution. Spotify and Apple have already flung the old-school power structures of entertainment into an unprecedented new realm, but what’s the next big shakeup in store? From striking artist livestreaming deals at Twitch to engineering TikTok virality to driving BTS’s global success at Big Hit to masterminding Marshmello’s EDM empire, the 2020 Future 25 are the music leaders who are building big ideas for tomorrow. This annual series, which appears in Rolling Stone’s November print issue this year, will spotlight a new group of 25 people who are driving the music business’s total and rapid transformation. — Amy X. Wang, business of music editor