"Music is always changing and the changes are unpredictable"
About this Quote
The intent is quietly anti-nostalgic. Sheehan’s not romanticizing “evolution” as progress; he’s describing volatility. Genres mutate, technologies rearrange what skill even means, and gatekeepers change from label execs to algorithms to short-form platforms. The subtext is also personal: virtuosity doesn’t guarantee relevance. You can be spectacular at one language of music and still wake up to a world speaking something else, where the audience’s attention has migrated.
What makes the quote work is its modesty. It refuses the comforting story that musicians can steer culture through sheer taste or talent. Unpredictability is the point: it’s what keeps music alive, but it’s also what makes careers fragile. There’s a practical ethic embedded here - adaptability over purity, curiosity over canon. If you treat music as a museum, you’ll end up playing to the security guards. If you treat it as weather, you learn to read shifts, pack light, and keep moving.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Sheehan, Billy. (2026, January 16). Music is always changing and the changes are unpredictable. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/music-is-always-changing-and-the-changes-are-130830/
Chicago Style
Sheehan, Billy. "Music is always changing and the changes are unpredictable." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/music-is-always-changing-and-the-changes-are-130830/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Music is always changing and the changes are unpredictable." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/music-is-always-changing-and-the-changes-are-130830/. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.







