The Rest Is Entertainment

Episode: The Gen-Z Trend Killing Pop Music
Date: February 17, 2026
Hosts: Richard Osman & Marina Hyde

Episode Overview

In this lively and insightful episode, Richard Osman and Marina Hyde deep-dive into two key trends reshaping entertainment. First, they dissect the explosive rise of “prediction markets” like Kalshi and Polymarket and their fast-approaching influence on live television and entertainment. Then, they pivot to examine Britney Spears’ headline-making sale of her music catalog, using it as a lens to explore the seismic shift toward old music (catalog) among Gen-Z listeners, and whether this trend signals the end of pop’s constant drive for “the new.”

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Prediction Markets: Entertainment’s Next Big Disruptor

[02:41-21:20]

• Introduction to Kalshi and Polymarket:
  Richard introduces two rapidly growing “prediction market” platforms, arguing, “You are going to hear an awful lot more about them in the next 18 months… They could save our industry or doom humanity.” (03:01)
• What Are Prediction Markets?
  Both hosts clarify these are essentially betting platforms—but due to their classification as “financial services” in the US, they're subject to much lighter regulation than conventional gambling.
• Scope of Betting:
  “You can bet on anything,” Richard marvels, listing odds on everything from Super Bowl scores to whether “Jesus Christ returns before 2027” (4% at time of recording) or if the US will reveal the existence of aliens (10%). (05:27-05:33)
• Integration with Entertainment:
  These platforms are rapidly embedding themselves in live entertainment, news, and sports. Polymarket paid handsomely for prominent placement during the Golden Globes—and, as Marina notes, “It looked really naff… I think Hollywood sort of bristled at them being there.” (07:21)
• Insider Trading Worries:
  Marina recounts a story of what appears to be blatant insider trading (a user making a series of highly prescient bets on the Super Bowl):
  “That is obviously a form of insider trading… but in derivatives markets you don’t actually get prosecuted for insider trading.” (09:09-09:42)
• Consequences for TV Funding & Format:
  Richard explains that the huge, unregulated money flowing through these platforms will soon make them critical funders of new, live, highly “bettable” TV formats:
  “The entire budget of that show, the entire winnings of that show can be funded by losing bets.” (13:45)
• Ethics and Cultural Normalization:
  Marina points out,
  “I think the culture is already so softened up for it. The gamification of absolutely everything…” (13:59)
• Potential Industry Shift:
  Richard predicts that within two years, “we’re going to have big entertainment propositions which are live, which are funded entirely by prediction markets.” (19:28) The entire genre of “micro dramas,” reality shows, and influencer-led challenges could soon rely on these “always on” betting platforms.
• Warning & Concern:
  Both hosts reflect on how the normalization of gambling—and reduced barriers between entertainment and betting—could reshape how audiences, especially young people, engage with culture and news.

Notable Quotes

• “You can bet on will Jesus Christ return before 2027. What sort of chance do you think there is of that happening?” — Richard Osman (05:27)
• “That is obviously a form of insider trading… but in derivatives markets you don’t actually get prosecuted.” — Marina Hyde (09:36)
• “The entire winnings of that show can be funded by losing bets.” — Richard Osman (13:45)
• “The gamification of absolutely every single tiny thing…” — Marina Hyde (13:59)
• “People will do them. I do not need a cut.” — Richard Osman (19:28)

2. Britney Spears’ Catalog Sale and the “Death” of New Pop Music

[23:08–36:12]

• Britney’s Catalog Deal:
  Britney Spears has sold her catalog to investment fund Primary Wave. While terms aren’t public, the figure is rumored to be around $200 million.
  “We don’t know how much she sold for. People are suggesting $200 million.” — Marina Hyde (24:03)
• Why Sell? Financial Efficiency:
  Richard unpacks the personal, legal, and especially tax motivations for artists to do these deals:
  “It’s incredibly tax efficient to sell your back catalog… She will pay essentially what we would call capital gains tax.” (24:54)
• Why Are Funds Buying?
  Catalogs have become an “institutional-level asset” thanks to streaming platforms like Spotify providing predictable earnings data.
  “Now we understand how much the legacy of a band can make each year… you can see that number on a spreadsheet.” — Richard Osman (27:24)
• Gen-Z’s Love Affair with Old Music:
  Multiple factors are at play:
  • Lockdown created a “nostalgia wave”—67% of playlists included older music.
  • Gen-Z now consumes more catalog music than new releases.
  • TikTok and on-screen “syncs” (like Stranger Things using Kate Bush) introduce classics to new generations.
  • Rise of “faux-stalgia”—as Marina says, “It’s not nostalgia. They weren’t there in the first place. It’s almost like a false memory.”
• Decontextualization & Authenticity:
  Gen-Z trusts music made “before AI,” craving authenticity even in past “manufactured” bands.
  “There’s a time before [AI] and a time after. And the time before, we know it was made by human beings—and that starts to become a premium.” — Richard Osman (30:13)
• Chart Evidence:
  Richard points to album charts packed with legacy acts—Queen, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, ABBA—alongside newer bands.
  “Abbott is massive with under 21s… A third of Beatles listeners are under 28.” — Marina Hyde (31:41)
• Sync and Cultural Rediscovery:
  The licensing of catalog music for films and TV series can deliver windfalls and a new fanbase, as with Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill.”
  “At the last count she’d got something like 10.8 million so far from that.” — Marina Hyde (33:27)
• Is Pop Music’s Story Finished?
  Richard wonders if we’ve reached a “tipping point”:
  “It feels like the story, such as it is, has been written.” (35:01) Meanwhile, Marina notes industry-wide anxiety:
  “Are fewer and fewer new things going to be created because people are just finding different ways… to rediscover the past?” (35:37)

Notable Quotes

• “Gen-Z now listens to more catalog music than they do new music. That says something about the cultural moment we find ourselves in.” — Marina Hyde (28:21)
• “Catalog is turning into classical music… In the same way you’d now think it’s insane if [a new artist] was selling more than Queen.” — Richard Osman (28:22)
• “Faux-stalgia. It’s not nostalgia. They weren’t there in the first place…” — Marina Hyde (29:21)
• “There’s a time before AI and a time after it. And the time before, we know it was made by human beings, and that starts to become a premium.” — Richard Osman (30:13)
• “It feels like the story, such as it is, has been written.” — Richard Osman (35:01)

3. Memorable Moments & Humor

• The playful exchange over the odds of Jesus Christ returning by 2027 (05:27).
• Marina’s description of the “naff” Polymarket presence at the Golden Globes (07:21).
• Their banter over club nights, Gen-Z, and “faux-stalgia”—with Richard quipping about Brighton Escape Rooms:
  “I just called it Escape Rooms. Sixteen-year-old me would be so angry!” (29:33)
• Richard’s tongue-in-cheek promise not to run a prediction market for the podcast, despite temptation:
  “Imagine how obsessed you’d become with it.” — Marina Hyde
  “I’m not going anywhere near.” — Richard Osman (19:21)
• Capper: Joking about recommendations and how “Abba are massive” (“Abba” vs “Abba are”) and their affection for Michael Palin’s new sitcom cameo (31:49, 38:08).

4. Recommendations & Closing Thoughts

[37:19–end]

• What they're enjoying:
  • Winter Olympics commentary (“I have loved the Winter Olympics… BBC are doing it brilliantly.” — Marina Hyde [37:22])
  • Arcadia at The Old Vic
  • Mackenzie Crook’s new sitcom “Small Profits” (“…definitely going to be a huge cult sitcom because it’s great.”—Richard Osman [38:08])
• Upcoming Podcast Plans:
  • Special Q&A episode focused on awards season.
  • Richard will pilot a segment interviewing people (starting with Marina) about their favorite books for The National Year of Reading.

Key Segment Timestamps

• Prediction Markets Rise & Entertainment Impact — [02:41–21:20]
• Britney Spears’ Catalog Sale & the Catalog Music Trend — [23:08–36:12]
• Gen-Z’s Relationship to Old Music & 'Faux-stalgia' — [28:22, 29:21, 31:41]
• What This Means For New Music — [32:01–35:37]
• Show Recommendations — [37:19–39:04]

Summary Takeaway

This episode is rich with frank, often funny analysis of both new and nostalgic trends colliding in entertainment. Richard and Marina spotlight how the influx of “prediction market” money could fundamentally transform TV, while exploring the rise of catalog music as Gen-Z’s new obsession—and what both signals for the future of fresh, risk-taking pop culture. Whether you want insider industry insights, cautionary tales, or simply sharp commentary and wit, this episode is classic Rest Is Entertainment.