… really love it. I hear something on the radio – Spotify search, follow, done. “fans also like…” “your daily mix”, “new releases from acts you´re crazy about” (something like that). They could shake up their randomise function – but I think that criticism is more because I like to hear very contrasting tracks right next to each other – Cohen followed by Grimes to Orbital to Focus to Pigsx7 – you know what I mean if you’ve listened to a number of the curated lists I post here, and I’m pretty positive, though have no evidence to back myself up, that my listening habits and preferences are not the expected normal. Nevertheless – I think Spotify is a great service and I’m happy to pay for it.
I don’t know the relationship between the service and the artists. I don’t know whether a viable income can be made outside of “the big acts”. I don’t know because it ain’t my business to know. So when I saw a headline by the owner of the service, Daniel Ek, saying artists were going to have to up their output, my initial reaction was “Cheeky twat!”. My second was – well – cheeky twat, again (“I don’t have an imagination” – Thanks Ringo) – but it does seem a bit rich (no pun intended) that the guy who owns the service has just propagated an action that will ensure him more content – I presume that will then attract more users, which….. yeah, you get it.
So, for an artist to secure a viable income – they have to produce more? Seems logical. But is music a commodity like, say, cheese? Or a laptop? Leaving aside the basic economics of it, or cheese/music comparisons, flooding of the market thinking etc etc – how come it’s always the guy at the top (and to be fair, it mostly is always a male) never seems to pick the option that would be good for everyone, not just him. How about he were to say, “You know what, I have way to much money. I make too much money. And it’s money, in reality, I don’t really need. In fact, know what, I’m going to have a right auld banging life and my family are going to be well looked after etc etc ” – How come the “twats” don’t say that?
Why not just bring back Napster and release more vinyl? Ohhhh, there’s another whole can of worms!!! And to celebrate that can of worms – here’s a list, a playlist – from that there Spotify! Play it once and then pay it again and again and again – loads – cause you hear those artists that lift your dull dreary life out of the doldrums – they need paid, or at least cups of tea – ah fuck it – go out and buy their T-shirt! (And don’t even get me started on amazon!)
Engooy!!