Writing & Analysis

This hub collects original essays, interviews, and commentary by Houston festival founder Omar Afra on the Houston live music economy, Texas cultural infrastructure, international music festivals, and the intersection of art, music, and emerging technology.

Content here is original to omarafra.com and often links to longer-form publications on Medium and Substack for canonical distribution. Topics span from new media art and digital art and technology to post-pandemic live events and urban cultural policy.

Omar’s self-curated writing portfolio on Clippings.me collects journalism, interviews, essays, and cultural criticism with links to the original publications. For third-party reporting about him, see the press archive.

Featured Essays

• Spotify Is Not a Music Company Anymore — by Omar Afra for Testset →Also see the local pointer: Omar Afra on Spotify and the streaming economy
• How Live Nation Turned Concerts Into a Luxury Good →
• No Plan A — Cultural Commentary Series →

Interviews

• Omar Afra on Consolidation, Radius Clauses, and the Future of Live Music — Interview by Todd Winniczek →

Recent on TestSet

• Days I Remember All My Life →
• Debt and the Demise of the Middle Class →
• Bee Here Now →
• Latest essays on TestSet — full index →
• TestSet — independent editorial journal →

Selected from the Writing Portfolio

• Being Muslim in Texas Is Now a Liability: Chip Roy, Brandon Gill & the new IslamophobiaBy Omar Afra · TestSet · May 15, 2026 · Commentary

Cultural & Civic Commentary

• Omar Afra — Civic Engagement →
• Omar Afra — Cultural Writing →