Can't even seek through songs.
this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2023
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Thanks for a well written reply. I'm glad that you have a model that works for you. I'm bummed that I don't think Spotify really does right by the artists (and other issues with them). I guess in your analogy that would be a zoo mistreating the animals? Not the best metaphor I'll have to think more on how to work that.
I also really want more people to consider other options. A lot of people I don't think really consider that they could buy instead of rent. I'm confident there are many people who listen to like five albums and are paying Spotify for that every month.
One thing I feel like people keep forgetting is that artists weren’t making much money off CD sales or radio plays anyway. People tend to single out Spotify as a unique problem in the industry, but things weren’t necessarily better before. Artists have always made most of their money from ticket and merch sales. It was true then and it’s true today. And it’s also still possible to use Spotify and also still pay to go to concerts and buy merch.
Fully agree with you on artists not getting their fair share, and I would argue that the issue is sadly endemic across the entire music industry and was that way long before streaming services even existed. Spotify is merely the most visible representation of a long festering issue that spans generations.
I can only speak for myself but I do actually still buy CDs for bands I really like. I will also occasionally buy merch or go to shows. Some of these bands I very certainly would never have discovered without Spotify (or a service like it).
Ultimately I agree that I'd like people to understand their options. I think the biggest likely barrier is convenience. I have a NAS server, and a virtual host set up that runs a Linux server with Plex on it, and I have that open so I can use Plexamp to play live albums or any other stuff I own that isn't on Spotify. But like... That's a massive barrier to entry to simply create something close to the experience Spotify offers out of the box. And it's definitely not as polished. I do it because I'm a hobbyist, but most people aren't like that. So then if you want to buy music individually, you're stuck listening to actual physical CDs, or ripping them and loading them on your phone or mp3 player. Old school cool for sure, but new school convenience is sure hard to beat once you've had a taste.
Barrier to entry is definitely a thing.
For what it's worth, Bandcamp does let you stream your music from the cloud. You can also download stuff for offline play there. And most artists let you stream some number of times before asking for money. It's a pretty good model.