“He's very… Harry Stylish. That's what he is. But that's all that he is. It's very superficial”: Producer Mike Stock explains why he thinks streaming has robbed us of “iconic” stars and great pop songs

Harry Styles performs on stage during his Together, Together Tour at Johan Cruijff Arena on May 17, 2026 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Having previously claimed that Taylor Swift and Sabrina Carpenter “couldn’t have got arrested” back in his ‘80s pop heyday, producer and songwriter Mike Stock has been fleshing out his argument in an interview with MusicRadar.

Stock, of course, was one third of crack music production outfit Stock Aitken Waterman, who had hits with Kylie Minogue, Rick Astley and many, many more. As he discusses how the industry has changed in the almost 40 years since then, though, it’s clear that Stock doesn’t believe that the current streaming-centric landscape is a hotbed for great pop music...