Thanks for writing the article, although I'd hoped to find something solution-oriented within it. This topic has been weighing heavily on my spirit as my wife and I prepare to release new music this year.
You mention the rise of ghost artists, and I would draw your attention to the role AI has to play in perpetuating this very issue. Now not only do artists have to contend with the grim reality that streaming pays next to nothing, but also that distributors are working behind the scenes with streaming platforms and generative AI companies to steal our work for things like AI training and remixing, all so these large corporations can open up additional revenue streams without artists seeing a cent.
It's bad enough that we have to release our music for free. Now we're being told we have to give up rights to our own IP and, dare I say it, souls just to play the game. It's not right, and it makes me sick to my stomach.
I thought long (and also totally forgot to reply, I apologize) about your detailed comment, Jaren. You're absolutely right about AI making the scene worse than it already is. The combination of exploitative streaming economics and now the emergence of AI tools trained on artists' work without consent or compensation is creating a perfect storm.
In fact, my last article was precisely about this AI copyright law debacle & how generative AI is essentially laundering creative work while distributing none of the value back to the originators.
On the solutions part, it is indeed very hard now. As a musician myself, I started this channel and brand specifically to find solutions to this HUGE problem that streaming and "convenience" has led us to. The economics have been twisted to benefit platforms and distributors at the expense of creators.
Right now it seems the only viable solution is a MASS MOVEMENT to make not only musicians, but FANS aware of what's really going on in the music industry and how musicians are losing their livelihood. This isn't just about better pay anymore; it's about the very survival of music as a sustainable profession.
Spotify, for example, has over 675 million active monthly users with 250 million paid subscribers. If we can get even 25%-30% of that crowd to realize how unfair and downright dishonest Spotify has been, we can start to bring change to people's behaviors. It might take time but it's not impossible.
People need to make some effort on the fans' side to become aware and make a small effort to support artists and in fact at this point in time: SAVE MUSIC itself.
Without intervention, we're heading toward a world where making music is no longer viable for most artists. And we will do everything we can to stop that. 🤝🏼
Thank you very much for your reply, and for the work that you do. On the subject of solutions - I am trying to lean into my local community. As a musician, I must look at all of the different pathways my skills and experiences have opened to me, and tread them all in parallel.
I am teaching community college courses, slowly starting to book solo shows, teaching privately, and trying more and more to show up for my community without expecting anything back. I am reconnecting to the roots of music, which lie not within commerce but within the soul, and therein finding some peace.
I hope that when the time comes to release my music, a pathway will reveal itself that feels right. Until then, I'll share my love of music live.
Excellent article... the internet and smartphones are ruining yet another industry. How is the streaming model better than the "evil corporate record companies" of the past?
Thanks for the kind words. The streaming model indeed added new ways to exploit not only musicians but the artform of music itself. Algorithmic control, data-based trends etc. just ruin the experience. 🤔
The Spotify platform fits Yanis Faroufakis’ description of Technofudalism perfectly. In it he talks about ‘Cloud Capital’ - cloud capital emphasises data, digital networks, and algorithmic power as the new sources of economic value and control. Cloud capital isn't just about owning physical assets or financial instruments, but about controlling the digital infrastructures, platforms, and data flows that increasingly mediate economic and social interactions.
In the case of Spotify it creates nothing itself but amasses huge revenues from artists using algorithms to maximise its profits at minimal cost to itself.
Big tech companies have become like feudal Lords who we must pay rent to (subscriptions)
Do you get the feeling Spotify love money more than they love music and the creators of music?
Their “Discovery Mode” is a lovely little feature - it allows rightsholders to forgo some royalties in exchange for better algorithmic promotion, increasing Spotify’s gross margin. Nice😤
Good piece! To play devils advocate, a lot of the things you mention were problems before Spotify was even a thing, and the industry was "democratized" well before they came to the party too. I think a lot of people hear "democratization" and think they have a better chance of winning the game when all it really means is that they have to compete against a larger pool of artists. But the music industry sucks and has always sucked, this is just the latest iteration of it.
Regarding discovery, I think this is a problem with people's listening habits. Most people don't venture outside their own comfort zone as a listener, and if you truly want to find new things that aren't related what what you already listen to, you can do that on the platform. But expecting the algorithm to spoon-feed it without doing some of the work of telling the algorithm what it is you want is expecting the algorithm do something it wasn't designed to do in the first place.
There really is no solution at this point. With the likely exception of short (span of a wave) - term contracts to ride and rinse a melody with the few, - Taylor, Kendrick - deals are between the publisher and platform. The only access to financial reward for songwriters and musicians remains the vinyl, gig and merch markets. Not from likes. Not even an approximation of the likes and listens. Fair few of the 21100 ‘artists’ in receipt of 50k+ are likely the ghosts that play in lists, placed at 3, 5,6,8,..AI has arrived and he’s calling you Betty. Making and placing and calling the tunes. We are all familiar with the frustrations that follow running into an alleyway with some seriously excited people. Everyone lined up for a car, now we have trouble dumping them. New world moves much faster than Tracy’s car. Until all music listeners have some organised radio away-days or Taylor goes to Bandcamp, there will be no artist empowerment. Spotify is not playing.
Thanks for writing the article, although I'd hoped to find something solution-oriented within it. This topic has been weighing heavily on my spirit as my wife and I prepare to release new music this year.
You mention the rise of ghost artists, and I would draw your attention to the role AI has to play in perpetuating this very issue. Now not only do artists have to contend with the grim reality that streaming pays next to nothing, but also that distributors are working behind the scenes with streaming platforms and generative AI companies to steal our work for things like AI training and remixing, all so these large corporations can open up additional revenue streams without artists seeing a cent.
It's bad enough that we have to release our music for free. Now we're being told we have to give up rights to our own IP and, dare I say it, souls just to play the game. It's not right, and it makes me sick to my stomach.
I thought long (and also totally forgot to reply, I apologize) about your detailed comment, Jaren. You're absolutely right about AI making the scene worse than it already is. The combination of exploitative streaming economics and now the emergence of AI tools trained on artists' work without consent or compensation is creating a perfect storm.
In fact, my last article was precisely about this AI copyright law debacle & how generative AI is essentially laundering creative work while distributing none of the value back to the originators.
On the solutions part, it is indeed very hard now. As a musician myself, I started this channel and brand specifically to find solutions to this HUGE problem that streaming and "convenience" has led us to. The economics have been twisted to benefit platforms and distributors at the expense of creators.
Right now it seems the only viable solution is a MASS MOVEMENT to make not only musicians, but FANS aware of what's really going on in the music industry and how musicians are losing their livelihood. This isn't just about better pay anymore; it's about the very survival of music as a sustainable profession.
Spotify, for example, has over 675 million active monthly users with 250 million paid subscribers. If we can get even 25%-30% of that crowd to realize how unfair and downright dishonest Spotify has been, we can start to bring change to people's behaviors. It might take time but it's not impossible.
People need to make some effort on the fans' side to become aware and make a small effort to support artists and in fact at this point in time: SAVE MUSIC itself.
Without intervention, we're heading toward a world where making music is no longer viable for most artists. And we will do everything we can to stop that. 🤝🏼
Thank you very much for your reply, and for the work that you do. On the subject of solutions - I am trying to lean into my local community. As a musician, I must look at all of the different pathways my skills and experiences have opened to me, and tread them all in parallel.
I am teaching community college courses, slowly starting to book solo shows, teaching privately, and trying more and more to show up for my community without expecting anything back. I am reconnecting to the roots of music, which lie not within commerce but within the soul, and therein finding some peace.
I hope that when the time comes to release my music, a pathway will reveal itself that feels right. Until then, I'll share my love of music live.
Excellent article... the internet and smartphones are ruining yet another industry. How is the streaming model better than the "evil corporate record companies" of the past?
Thanks for the kind words. The streaming model indeed added new ways to exploit not only musicians but the artform of music itself. Algorithmic control, data-based trends etc. just ruin the experience. 🤔
The Spotify platform fits Yanis Faroufakis’ description of Technofudalism perfectly. In it he talks about ‘Cloud Capital’ - cloud capital emphasises data, digital networks, and algorithmic power as the new sources of economic value and control. Cloud capital isn't just about owning physical assets or financial instruments, but about controlling the digital infrastructures, platforms, and data flows that increasingly mediate economic and social interactions.
In the case of Spotify it creates nothing itself but amasses huge revenues from artists using algorithms to maximise its profits at minimal cost to itself.
Big tech companies have become like feudal Lords who we must pay rent to (subscriptions)
100% agreed!! In-fact this is some next level synchronicity as my last post on Substack is exactly about this😅🤝🏽: https://open.substack.com/pub/protostellarofficial/p/the-new-feudal-lords-of-silicon-valley?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=4mw0rn
Heading over right now -
Absolutely spot on!!
Do you get the feeling Spotify love money more than they love music and the creators of music?
Their “Discovery Mode” is a lovely little feature - it allows rightsholders to forgo some royalties in exchange for better algorithmic promotion, increasing Spotify’s gross margin. Nice😤
100%
I haven’t heard of anybody getting a new Spotify account in the past few years. Subscribers have left, or are planning to leave.
Good piece! To play devils advocate, a lot of the things you mention were problems before Spotify was even a thing, and the industry was "democratized" well before they came to the party too. I think a lot of people hear "democratization" and think they have a better chance of winning the game when all it really means is that they have to compete against a larger pool of artists. But the music industry sucks and has always sucked, this is just the latest iteration of it.
Regarding discovery, I think this is a problem with people's listening habits. Most people don't venture outside their own comfort zone as a listener, and if you truly want to find new things that aren't related what what you already listen to, you can do that on the platform. But expecting the algorithm to spoon-feed it without doing some of the work of telling the algorithm what it is you want is expecting the algorithm do something it wasn't designed to do in the first place.
Finally, a sane voice from "The High Notes." I agree with this comment (except for the first two words).
There really is no solution at this point. With the likely exception of short (span of a wave) - term contracts to ride and rinse a melody with the few, - Taylor, Kendrick - deals are between the publisher and platform. The only access to financial reward for songwriters and musicians remains the vinyl, gig and merch markets. Not from likes. Not even an approximation of the likes and listens. Fair few of the 21100 ‘artists’ in receipt of 50k+ are likely the ghosts that play in lists, placed at 3, 5,6,8,..AI has arrived and he’s calling you Betty. Making and placing and calling the tunes. We are all familiar with the frustrations that follow running into an alleyway with some seriously excited people. Everyone lined up for a car, now we have trouble dumping them. New world moves much faster than Tracy’s car. Until all music listeners have some organised radio away-days or Taylor goes to Bandcamp, there will be no artist empowerment. Spotify is not playing.