That Guardian piece really rubs me the wrong way. There are well documented issues with artist compensation on Spotify, but from a consumer perspective it's unarguably better than what came before. Anyone complaining about having a near perfect archive of all music and pining for the days of paying $20 for a CD at Sanity needs a reality check.
My musical taste is far broader than it would have been without access to streaming. Having the ability to go deep on, say, Brazillian Tropicalia, or Nigerian Afrobeat just by running a quick search is a modern miracle. Anyone who finds themselves listening to the same stuff over and over should probably look inward instead of blaming the streaming format.
It's an interesting phenomenon (TikTok and music). I feel that since we've moved on from the idea of a mainstream platform of pop (and culture in general), towards multiple platforms of different genres, the idea of music as a motivating force has lessened. We're all in our different algorithmically-curated sub-genres and while the Top 40 still exists, less and less of us are listening. Case in point: I was a (pretty crap) DJ back in the day. Because the only format was 12" vinyl, I now have a lot of records. I kept collecting and now have a reasonably large collection. Thanks to the resurgence of vinyl as a format, there's now a big subculture (stores, discogs.com, others) that keeps it going. To quote plenty of Fox News guests: the mainstream ignores us but we have a following!
James, love your substack. I look forward to it hitting my inbox each week - feels exactly aligned with things I am interested in. I see you name check Seeing Like A State in this post (also got name checked in the new Stuart Jeffries book I'm currently reading) - will need to blow the dust off my copy and finally read it. I'd love to learn more about the books you've read/are reading that connect with the topics you regularly discuss on your substack.
That Guardian piece really rubs me the wrong way. There are well documented issues with artist compensation on Spotify, but from a consumer perspective it's unarguably better than what came before. Anyone complaining about having a near perfect archive of all music and pining for the days of paying $20 for a CD at Sanity needs a reality check.
My musical taste is far broader than it would have been without access to streaming. Having the ability to go deep on, say, Brazillian Tropicalia, or Nigerian Afrobeat just by running a quick search is a modern miracle. Anyone who finds themselves listening to the same stuff over and over should probably look inward instead of blaming the streaming format.
Not a real index, but I think Matt Yglesias said that you can tell how labour markets tightness by how rude waiters are.
The Langley School cover of Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft also goes hard af: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8wykEr8rqs
It's an interesting phenomenon (TikTok and music). I feel that since we've moved on from the idea of a mainstream platform of pop (and culture in general), towards multiple platforms of different genres, the idea of music as a motivating force has lessened. We're all in our different algorithmically-curated sub-genres and while the Top 40 still exists, less and less of us are listening. Case in point: I was a (pretty crap) DJ back in the day. Because the only format was 12" vinyl, I now have a lot of records. I kept collecting and now have a reasonably large collection. Thanks to the resurgence of vinyl as a format, there's now a big subculture (stores, discogs.com, others) that keeps it going. To quote plenty of Fox News guests: the mainstream ignores us but we have a following!
James, love your substack. I look forward to it hitting my inbox each week - feels exactly aligned with things I am interested in. I see you name check Seeing Like A State in this post (also got name checked in the new Stuart Jeffries book I'm currently reading) - will need to blow the dust off my copy and finally read it. I'd love to learn more about the books you've read/are reading that connect with the topics you regularly discuss on your substack.