I have very little interest in “continuous engagement”. “I want to spend my time getting better at music, a craft I have dedicated my life to. Holly Herndon tweeted her dismay at Ek’s comments. You’d think somewhere in there would be a person who is a fan of the arts, and thus sensitive to the realities of what it means to make art.” His lack of awareness about what it takes to write and create music is sort of strange given he’s the founder of a music streaming platform. We have no muse to serve but the marketplace, and without adhering to the rapid heart rate that is Spotify’s demand for new food for their algorithm, our careers are bound to perish. His patronising comments were rightly rounded on by artists who rebuked him for putting a deluge of “ content” that suits the Spotify model over artistic creation, that fails to understand the finances required in a funding recording, in investing in instruments and travel costs, thrown into even more sharp focus by the lack of a live music circuit due to Covid 19.Īs part of a long and fantastically detailed Patreon post entitled “Music vs Daniel Ek” Zola Jesus commented that “ (the billionaire CEO of Spotify) is saying that musicians need to look at themselves less as artists and more as content creators.
But given how the Spotify model doesn’t work for most artists, this billionaire tech exec is in no position to demand more and more for less and less.
Reflecting upon how Spotify and the streaming model has obviously changed the frequency of releases and the way artists engage directly with their audience, as seen by the increased speed and length of releases by the likes of The 1975, Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift in recent times. I feel, really, that the ones that aren’t doing well in streaming are predominantly people who want to release music the way it used to be released.” It is about putting the work in, about the storytelling around the album, and about keeping a continuous dialogue with your fans.
“There is a narrative fallacy here, combined with the fact that, obviously, some artists that used to do well in the past may not do well in this future landscape, where you can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough.” he remarked “The artists today that are making it realize that it’s about creating a continuous engagement with their fans. Published last week in an interview with Music Ally, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s misjudged remarks that appeared to treat artists and musicians as mere “ content creators” as he demanded more and more “ continuous engagement”, they sounded like the clinical kind of directives an unscrupulous sweat shop owner would trot out, it also revealed just how out of touch he is and the double standard at the heart of the broken Spotify model.
0 kommentar(er)
