An ageing punk welcomes Music Week through the door of a new establishment in a side street in London’s Covent Garden, and directs us to the ‘living room’ for our appointment with the mysterious woman who’s transforming the music industry.

The location is the first Sonos concept store in the UK, and the lady in question is Amazon’s Alexa, a disembodied voice who will read the news, tell you the weather and – with the right streaming subscription – play ...