The Popcast is hosted by Jon Caramanica, a pop music critic for The New York Times. It covers the latest in pop music criticism, trends and news.

In recent weeks, the big businesses that present music to the public have undergone some tectonic ripples and shifts. On April 3, Spotify went public, offering shares on the New York Stock Exchange via a direct offering. (The shares sold were all previously held by investors — no new shares were made available.)