Spotify CEO: musicians can no longer release music only “once every 3-4 years”

Try telling that to Tool.

I used to work in the music industry professionally, on the ground level doing booking and management. This trend has been happening slowly for nearly a decade but it’s finally here. Rap and Hip Hop figured out a long time before most other genres that rapid small releases was a far better way to keep hype and sales up. Before Spotify was a thing, the shift was happening with YouTube but it wasn’t as predominant. Now it’s basically assumed you’ll be releasing singles every month.

The music isn’t your product, the music is your marketing. The shows, the merch, your influence - that’s your product.

It’s not about listening to something new; it’s about the wave of hype and promo you do around each release, it keeps you relevant and gives you something to talk about, keeps you fresh in peoples minds.

I really wish bandcamp would be bigger. Much prefer their platform. The spotify monetization cycle is so bad for music

Fiona Apple disagrees!