Studio filmmaking in the mid-2020s revolves around a toxic addiction to recognisable IP. Whilst comic books and video games are the most blatant examples, the inescapable prevalence of the music biopic these past few years is just as much a symptom of that. Trading on the substantial existing fanbases of the artists as well as the desire of said musicians to shore up their legacy image for a new generation that’ll buy their greatest hits albums, these are just as much beholden to rigid corporate interests as those of its cape and pixel brethren. In 2024 alone, there were seven wide release music biopics in cinemas, and we have major films on Bruce Springsteen, Nat King Cole and Michael Jackson fast coming down the pipe.