Based on the poll below, and on the discussion about it (here and on Facebook), I have decided to stop adding Spotify links to the recommendations. And consequently also to delete the Ambienblog playlist there. (The ambientblog mix podcast will remain available).
As you can see below, a small majority of only 58% voted NO (at the time of writing). 34% Would like to keep the links, 9% doesn’t care.
Since I do not intend to also include links to other platforms (Deezer, Tidal, Apple, etc), I feel it’s best to stop adding Spotify links and only refer to Bandcamp (or directly to the label or artist site if there’s no Bandcamp). After all, those that dó use Spotify (or other services) will be smart enough to look up the album there, if they want to. It only takes a few extra clicks after all.
As a side thought: this discussion also made me think about what I would do if I were a musician (which I am not!). I would definitely NOT take the music off of this platform, but simply would not expect any money from it. After all, there ís a (small) chance for new listeners to discover the music – especially when a track is added to one of their curated (and also cursed, in my opinion, but that’s another discussion) playlists.
Those who want to buy will ultimately find a way to support the artist (and those who don’t won’t). There’s no use in fighting streaming: it is here to stay. And with a niche like this, I guess Spotify won’t be really impressed if you remove your music.
Whatever speculations there may be about Bandcamp’s future, it still is the place to go for independent artists.
Original Post:
Until now, I always add a Spotify link to the recommendation (if available).
But currently, there’s a lot of discussion about Spotify’s decision NOT to pay any royalties anymore for tracks that have less than 1000 plays. This means that many ‘indie’ musicians of the more obscure genres will not receive any payouts at all anymore (even the ones that previously earned some of the 0,003 cents per stream in the past).
I assume that this affects almost all of the artists recommended here on Ambientblog.net. The cumulated payouts of the streams will go to major artists. So, even if you continuously stream your favorite underground artist, the money will go to artists like Taylor Swift and the like. To those who don’t need more than they already have – unlike the artists who are passionate enough to make music but cannot ever live off of it.
A ridiculous decision. It should be the opposite: stimulate beginning and experimental artists to innovate further by paying them a fair amount, and pay a bit less to those that already can swim in their $$$.
On the other hand… Spotify can still be a great way to explore music… to check out if an album appeals to you before you decide you like it enough to buy it or support the artist in any other way. Yes, Bandcamp is great for that, too, but Spotify has some extras to find new music you probably like, such as the weekly Discover Weekly and Release Radar playlists.
(Yes, I know there are other streaming platforms like Tidal, Deezer etc. But I have no subscription to those services and cannot afford to join all of them even if I wanted. I simply chose Spotify in the past because they have the largest user base by far).
So here’s the dilemma: should I keep adding the Spotify links to the recommendations? Or should I stop doing so and stop promoting the use of Spotify?
I love to hear your opinions about this! You can simply use the poll below or discuss this in more detail in the comments. Let me know your opinion on this matter!
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Please do quit the neo- capitalist platform Spotify. It treats the artists and their own employees very bad to maximize their profits.
There’s no excuse for keep using it.
Now bandcamp is the only alternative for as long as it takes, looking at the recent developments.
I don’t use Spotify because of their low payouts and sponsorship of dips**t podcasters. So, I usually end up looking for the artists on Bandcamp and either buy the album or not. In that respect, direct links to Bandcamp make things easier for me. It’s a shame they only have playlists in their app that can’t be shared. It would be great for discovery.
I have Apple Music because of the bundle with TV+ and easy phone backups. I don’t use it much (my son does), but they do pay artists better and have playlists. I understand if you don’t want to pay for a membership there, but I wonder how many people have vestigial Apple Music accounts.
Justement, un article sur AudioFanzine ce we sur le même sujet… où tout le monde pense que la musique c’est que une forme de gratuit, normal…: https://fr.audiofanzine.com/newsletter/2023-12-02/
“Allez, allez : l’hiver est là et il fait un froid à boire du chocolat chaud avant de s’enfermer dans sa tanière pour faire de la musique avec des grelots, ou alors à trainasser dans les marchés de Noël qui s’ouvrent ça et là, plus silencieux en Allemagne qu’en France d’ailleurs. Pourquoi ? Parce que la société de gestion des droits d’auteur allemande, la GEMA, a revu à la hausse sa grille de tarifs et que les commerçants ne l’entendent pas de cette oreille. Serait-ce là un début de divorce entre la musique et ceux qui l’utilisent juste parce qu’elle fait vendre ? Serait-ce que les allemands auront une chance d’échapper aux chansons de Mariah Carey ? Gageons en tout cas que les badauds pourront toujours fredonner les chants de Noël qui sont, pour la plupart, dans le domaine public…”
Bref, oui, on gagne pas grand chose mais on le fait par passion et surtout on réinvestit pour créer, créer, créer et avoir des retours qui sont peu nombreux mais d’une force émotionnelle inouïe.
Grâce à votre plateforme j’achète beaucoup sur Bandcamp et je pense que c’est le meilleur modèle.
Yes, I agree that Bandcamp is the best platform by far for independant ‘niche’ artists. Let’s hope it stays that way!
pourquoi ne pas choisir youtube music?
Interesting question. I haven’t really considered YouTube music because it is primarily a video platform, mostly offering single track videos. I only looked at audio platforms where a full album can be streamed. Besides, the YouTube music payouts ($0.002 pps) are even worse than Spotify’s.