Spotify Is Eating the Entire Music Business?

[gearwatcher]

Yeah, that's all cool, but ... if we label average listener as "too dumb" and "not worthy" for our precious art, we're essentially eliminating ourselves from the industry, ain't we?

Who's doing that though? Mostly it's a case of people not caring too much about your numetalartcore, and you not caring about them not caring.

Also, nobody was born with perfect music taste. Acquired tastes are ... well ... acquired. If we let Daniel Ek and Taylor Swift build the system in a way that their customer always consumes just their product and literally nothing else, they won't have a chance to acquire anything.

And it's not just Spotify. That's just the latest most shiny example of the same thing. Why is there literally no chillstep radio in the air? "Well because Taylor is much more famous." ...well yes, yes. But is that the reason or a consequence?

We get about as much say in that as we get in whether it will rain tomorrow.

Best we can do is hope music industry finally dies in the painful death most of it realistically deserves, and do our own thing meanwhile.

[FarleyCZ]

Agreed.

[harryupbabble]

for new music...
i haven't visited spotify yet
nor bandcamp
not even youtube (i do visit for tutorials and classic rock songs)
and not even the kvr music cafe

i'm not done with trying to create my own songs
i don't want to subconsciously steal song fragments from...
bandcamp
spotify
youtube
soundcloud
and many other sites like that

i do listen to college radio for new music
and i listen to my mp3 collection which is like 90 percent classic rock
it's too late to unhear those songs
so any subconscious song fragments stealing will come from there

[bulevardi]

Nowadays, lots of people are too much hooked to their smartphone to continuously consume content, that is pushed into their brains via algorhythms and endless loops.
Too much people get addicted to screens more and more.
I personally felt it on too many moments in the past year... And I just read an article about that trend that the average screen time is doubled since the covid lockdowns, but it hasn't decreased anymore after.
Even worse: it worsened!

Some people often take some time off with their phone, do a "digital detox" for a while and see what happens with their brains and withdrawal symptoms. You should try it sometime and post your findings, analyse your behaviour, take conclusions.
Of course, a smartphone is handy, has very practical features, and has become necessary for your job or in daily life.
But, for social media and addiction, 90% of the screen time can be cut down if you really want.
Imagine all the time we spent scrolling screens in 2024 , used on other more productive things, learning skills, doing sport, meaningful socialize in real life...

I read about people getting back to an old model just for texting and calling (for a certain time span), and replace all the new stuff by old habits.
As for music, they got back to cd's, and pulled their old iPod or MP3-player out of the dust again. Without internet, only listen to what you have, not endless searching and scrolling. People playing a full album again, taking the time for it, instead of skipping songs and switching from artist to artist every song.

[bulevardi]

Imagine all the time we spent scrolling screens in 2024 , used on other more productive things, learning skills, doing sport, meaningful socialize in real life...

Perhaps everyone should do the math and tell about it.
I read that nowadays most youngsters spend and average 3 hours a day on their screen.
That's 1095 hours a year....
Divide this in blocks of 8-hour working shifts.... you'll have 136 days off ... pure free time.
(or 45 full days if you divide by 24 hours)

I read that in some countries, people only get 10 days off from their boss to have vacation...

So what would you do with all this time?

[osiris]

Here's the funniest thing. I can't even listen, can't even preview my songs on Spotify on my laptop because Spotify wants me to download the app. I can on my phone, but only the 20 second preview .

[bulevardi]

Here's the funniest thing. I can't even listen, can't even preview my songs on Spotify on my laptop because Spotify wants me to download the app. I can on my phone, but only the 20 second preview .

I can play it online in my browser without installing. But I then have to login with a FB or Google account or so, and there's lots of limitations (no skipping, ads,...)

[dayjob]

i do listen to college radio for new music
and i listen to my mp3 collection which is like 90 percent classic rock
it's too late to unhear those songs

college radio can be quite good. there's some non-profit local community radio type stations where i live that are good for all kinds of things. regular shows from hosts who also interview bands coming thru town and local artists/bands.

but, as a 50+ human i can't stand to hear anymore classic rock. in the 80s and 90s it's all the radio played on rock stations. there were pop stations that were good for all the things but my god.. i never want to hear led zeppelin again. maybe there's 2 songs i can tolerate. "two-fer tuesdays getting the Led out!" those stations didn't play any new music until the seattle grunge bands got big then they suddenly realized that young people existed. prior to that the best we had was headbanger's ball on mtv, late night DJ mixes on the hiphop/soul stations and whatever our shared cassette collections offered. though the 80s had some good top 40 w/all the synth bands and that catchy 80s stuff.

if for some reason i'm in a car w/o my ipod and turn on the radio only to be cursed by classic rock i immediately search for NPR or the jazz station.

[bulevardi]

though the 80s had some good top 40 w/all the synth bands and that catchy 80s stuff.

What's your top 40 from the 80's?

[musicartist99]

I think we, people using Spotify are doing this to ourselves, Spotify is just the means.

It's just too convenient,
just like smartphones,
everything at our fingertips,
we don't even need to lift a finger,
now we can just issue vocal commands,
and soon we're gonna have machines reading our minds
so that we wouldn't even have to think,
because those machines will provide us with what
they think we want
based on what we wanted in the past

I just made a modern poem

[VOODOO U]

though the 80s had some good top 40 w/all the synth bands and that catchy 80s stuff.

What's your top 40 from the 80's?

He likes Robert Plant and The Firm.

It's just too convenient,

Convenience is the worst and most hypnotic drug for modern mankind.

soon we're gonna have machines reading our minds
so that we wouldn't even have to think,
because those machines will provide us with what
they think we want
based on what we wanted in the past

Been there done that. It's called Television.

[mjolnir]

i like bandcamp's model because it's not bogus and bonkers with ads like soundcloud.
the albums are neatly organized, and the players work okay too.
also, i like how you can get actual musical stuff, not just DJ Mixes (sorry DJ's, you aint fly).

[osiris]

I do think my adblock is the major reason I can't even preview anything on Spotify. I have an artists page that I can go to, but nothing to say to anyone, so I don't go.

[vurt]

Convenience is the worst and most hypnotic drug for modern mankind.

that's how the convenience store owners have taken over!

[CrystalWizard]

I had to sign up to slopify oops spotify because it wouldn't let me just listen (could be adblock or noscript). What a shitshow, it just keeps on trying to get me to listen to whatever it wants me to listen to. The interface is obtuse, i think purposely to force me to install the spyware, oops i mean app. I'm finding it to be the most unpleasant of any streaming site. Other than music cafe, other members here and on another forum,Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and the very occasional YT (YT sounds like total krap to me) i still listen to stuff on hard drives. I have a very old friend who was a tape trader way back (i was big in the mailart/tape trading) and he has more live music than he and i could listen to in a few lifetimes. a wide range of music.
Bandcamp is my fav, there is a lot of great music there imo. I have a lot of other reasons to dislike Slopify (such as them not paying anyone who isn't already rich).