Spotify. Good thing or bad thing? Discuss for $5!

I actually love Spotify. The world has changed soo soo much, I remember a time where it was all about CDs and cassettes. Then came the Walkman and MP3 player but still you needed to download music. Then the iPod came out with iTunes where you had to purchase music (side note. Does anyone remember that time U2 gave everyone a free album??). Now we are in the age of streaming.

Streaming services like Spotify have really shaken things up, haven’t they? It’s pretty remarkable how we can now access such a vast library of music with just a few clicks. And I see what you mean about artists being able to connect more directly with their fans – it’s definitely changed the game. But yeah, the issue of fair compensation for artists is a real concern. They put so much into their craft and deserve to earn a decent living from it. Hopefully, the industry can work towards a more equitable solution moving forward.

For personal use, Spotify has completely changed the way I listen to music, and honestly in a lot of ways changed the way I’ve grown up! When I was a young’un, getting a spotify subscription allowed me to explore so many different types of music without having to buy in to albums I ‘might not like’, and allowed for so much expression. I really grew into US hip-hop, especially alternative sounds like Childish Gambino and Aminé, who I may have never give a try without the subscription, and now are huge parts of my identity!

Problems come though when you start thinking about the creative side of the music… I think for many, allowing their music to be heard on the platform can give smaller artists exposure and room to reach new audiences, but for the hefty cuts they take, I don’t know if it’s worth it for the bigger artists! I know many of them make most of their profits through shows and events, but I do understand the frustration they must feel with streaming services too.

I think Spotify has it's pros and cons. For the most part Spotify is great for music fans, as it exposes them to bands and artists they might not otherwise have found out about whilst they're just browsing through new albums or releases on Spotify, and the subscription model keeps costs for consumers down.

I do have to wonder if it's as fair as it could be to artists though. Particularly lesser known ones that might not get as many eyes on them. From what I understand artists are paid royalties per x number of streams. And that amount is pretty miniscule, compared to what they could be making via selling albums. Though producing distributing physical copies is expensive, so by distributing via Spotify they save a lot of cost. And they can make a lot of extra money from YouTube revenue.

So as I said, there are pros and cons for both consumers and artists to consider. But for the most part I think it's a good thing to expose people to new music that wouldn't necessarily make it to mainstream. Because there's far too much of the same, tired old sounds coming from mainstream 'artists' who copy and remix eachother or don't really offer anything new. Take RnB & rap music as an example it all sounds very similar.

Spotify exposes people to new and innovative artists who might not otherwise have got attention. Variety is always good isn't it? Then again, Spotify isn't the only digital distribution source..competition is healthy too!

My subscription of Spotify runned out and i was in the mood to give Tidal a try.

Ah, how do I import all my playlists? No worries, some websites out there already have set up a business. If I remember correctly, the free service is around 500 Songs.

Here I am on Tidal, the HIFI Platform for Music.

I ran the songs on both and for me there is no difference… I am already in the 90-95% range of HIFI. So I step back from this check and give it later the day another try. But nothing changed. All the work to import the music from A to B….

The biggest thing for me is the price. Currently the western payment plans are just too expensive… I don´t own the Music, all the money I have paid is just service. But my House will never hold a Vinyl… it's all just digital dust. All the digital services are offered worldwide and for whatever reason in other countries it costs 5% of what we are forced to pay here.

I am the guy who buys the merch at the concert, to support the Band. Also I like Swag. But Spotify is not giving me swag at all. Neither does Tidal.

On the other hand I don't want to miss this digital service, as it makes listening to music super easy.

I wish there would be a monthly report from Spotify on how much the artist got… How much did the pump into the infrastructure and what are the costs of the employees? But maybe they don´t want to have “normal” customer look into this data.

On the other side as an Artist, is this not free promo on a major platform? Like how should I know a small Band from Africa if not suggested by an algorithm?

And now they get some money because some random German dude is listening to them nonstop?!

IMHO: It's a good thing for now but more work will be done by AI and Robots. With all the freetime we can more and more express ourselves as artists. And if there is no need to work for life… the payment of spotify gets obsolete. Just cover the service and artists express their work for free. Yes, this utopia because for a lot of people work is their meaning of life.

Imagine you don´t want to get paid for your art because your needs go in that direction and are fully covered to all your needs.

PRO Spotify, Pro Streaming.

Also talking about top notch problems without getting to the root cause is a funny time wasting activity. I approved that :P

While I don’t use Spotify, I occasionally listen to music on YouTube Music which came as a bonus from YT Premium. However, my primary choice for music streaming is SoundCloud, which perfectly caters to my taste for obscure music. SoundCloud is a fantastic platform; it's free and teeming with independent artists who share their original works, remixes, covers of popular songs, and tributes.

I view SoundCloud much like Wikipedia—both are community-driven and foster collaboration among users eager to share their art and passion. Many musicians on SoundCloud also have profiles on Spotify and Patreon, where fans can support them financially. Additionally, the platform offers a wealth of copyright-free music, ideal for content creators looking for soundtracks for videos or podcasts.