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

thefader.com

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

#821

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your friend was absolutely right. I never cared if people pirated my bands music (or later the bands that I was managing) because the real thing I wanted was them showing up at shows, buying merch, posting us on facebook, asking events to bring us on, etc... At a certain point, Taylor Swift and larger artists _do_ make a good chunk of change from their actual music sales, but it isn't a feasible strategy to rely on t…

The model breaks down for people who write purely electronic music and are thus composers, not performers.

A lot of electronic musicians perform at clubs and parties

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

#822
post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Videogames are software products and are art. So my initial point that some software products are art was correct. Yay!

I didn't say that. And just repeatedly stating something doesn't make it true, especially if others disagree and you refuse to elaborate, discuss, or explain.

Is nethack (ASCII mode) art?

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

#823
post #205
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you think Bandcamp should be improving? What would a better alternative look like? Genuinely curious as an artist pretty satisfied with Bandcamp.

The UI design is just awful for this day and age. It looks like MySpace from 15 years ago. For example you get to an album page and there's just so much crap. The album and the player should be the main focus but the player is this tiny thing relegated into a corner.

The straight forward oldschool page layout is one of the things I really love about Bandcamp. It's clear and concise and fast.

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

#824
post #31

> Ek claimed that a "narrative fallacy" had been created and caused music fans to believe that Spotify doesn't pay musicians enough for streams of their music. Fallacy? Scores of well-known musicians, from Bette Midler to Taylor Swift, have talked about how little they make through Spotify and other streaming platforms. IIRC Swift only joined the platform after cutting a special deal. Not everyone can do this. Quotin…

How little they make, compared to what? Streaming has basically saved the music industry, finally getting revenues to go up after about 15 years of decline. Spotify pays out 70% of its revenue to labels and artists. I wonder what percentage would satisfy people.

The industry revenues are up, and all of that is going to the big labels and a token handful of artists at the very top of the celebrity pile.

The vast majority of artists are still getting screwed over by the labels. They're getting a pittance, if anything.

If at all possible, always buy directly from the artists or through sites like Bandcamp that actually pay out well.

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

#825

I don't see the lie here. :) Many of us in the music industry have been doing more single-based releases than album-based, because there really is no point to albums anymore. If you have a couple of tracks that all fit together, by all means, release them at once. But music isn't album-driven anymore, it's track-driven, and has been for a very long time.

That may be true in your corner of the music industry.

In the corners I'm familiar with (metal, rock, a bit of punk, various niche crossovers), the album is still king. Most artists will drop an album every couple of years and maybe an EP or two in between. Some of the most beloved and admired artists have released maybe 3 or 4 albums over a multi-decade career. They put together concept albums that work as a whole. Some will put out 40+ minute albums as a single track, because it's meant to be listened to in full, and needs you to take the time to do so.

There has been a slow change more towards EPs, especially for the more underground and independent bands. There's no reason to make a full album if you have 3-4 tracks that stand up on their own as a cohesive whole. In the old days, label's would often force artists to pad out those with filler tracks, just to produce a "full album".

These artists make their money through merch sales and touring, and it works because of a dedicated fanbase.

Popular music may be singles-driven and I would say that it has always been so. Thankfully there is a lot more out there than popular music.

For all I care, every single one of the big labels and streaming services could disappear tomorrow.

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

#826

Honestly, this seems beneficial to the musicians too. No longer worry about months/years of work going into an album that flops. Be more iterative, experimental, and user driven by releasing an album's worth of content over the course of a few years. Seems like this reduces the risk for musicians publishing music that doesn't have an audience.

I prefer the artists who put thought into creating a cohesive whole that requires more than a quick 3-minute track to tell.

Getting caught up in a "rapid release cycle" means a race to the lowest common denominator in search of popularity.

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

#827
post #221

I notice an interesting adaption to this in the metalcore scene. Bands release shorter EP's (5-6 song mini albums) more frequently. In some cases 2 separate EP's are re-released after as a combined album plus 1-3 new bonus tracks. At first I didn't really like this trend b/c I enjoy listening to the full album through on first listen. But I do understand why they are doing this to adapt to the streaming age. Instead…

That has been going on in the greater metal scene for a long time. Especially for smaller artists, they put out a bunch of demos and EPs before putting together an album. In contrast to what you're mentioning, often the main tracks of some of the EPs will be on the album, but all of the "b-sides" will only be available on the EPs, but I've also seen examples of multiple EPs being re-released together. Not necessarily as an album in the traditional sense, but as a compilation.

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

#828

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Rap doesn't have to fit some narrowly defined category where all artists are doing the same style during a given period. And yet thats where it's at right now, with some exception. Hiphop used to have diversity of sound. Now, as far as popular rap goes, it's all homogenized. Same beats. Same cadence. Same flow. Voices indistinguishableffrom each other.

>Same beats. Same cadence. Same flow. Voices indistinguishableffrom each other. This is how people used to talk about Hip Hop in the 90s. People familiar with Trap can easily distinguish between the different rappers and producers - just like people familiar with 90's Hip Hop could distinguish between Nas and Ghostface or DJ Premier and Pete Rock. And, that's only Trap. There are still popular MC's and producers who…

>This is how people used to talk about Hip Hop in the 90s

This isn't true unless you're talking the bling Era of the late 90s.

Also, past criticisms existing doesn't invalidate new ones even if there's similarities in the complaint. So that's a side step.

Tribe, wu, west coast gfunk rappers, mobb deep, fu schnickens, onyx, bone thugs, cypress, busta, we're all wildly different. Even at the height of g-funk, I could have named 50 at least semi popular rappers who deviated from that style.

Now who deviates? Danny brown? He's like 40. RtJ? They're like 40 too. Kendrick tends to always be the modern exception to every hip hop criticism. So I consider him the exception that proves the rule.

>are still popular MC's and producers who operate outside of Trap.

And they're treated the same as Rhymesayers or DefJux rappers, Saul Williams or immortal tech were during the bling and Crunk eras. It's all "white" even if black, nerdy, back packing shit thats not considered part of the "culture". Thats the way most lyrical rappers are treated today. They're talked about like Atmosphere was in 2004.

So fuck the culture.

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

#829
post #780

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about from other established rappers? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0OdmRtuQew Admittedly they are now "older" :)

You say they're older as a joke, but it's very much relevant. Old artists dismissing the developments and approaches of their younger colleagues is a tale as old as time.

And yet - dismissing criticisms of older people by younger people as "you're just old" rather than answering the criticism is just as old.

Older gens hated rap when I was a kid and I was thirsty to defend it with supported reasons

Kids today just say OK boomer and move on. Bc they have no defense .

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

#830
post #780

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about from other established rappers? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0OdmRtuQew Admittedly they are now "older" :)

Established older musicians hated The Beatles.

Generalizing criticisms as the same as past criticisms is a sidestep rather than a point.
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