I just removed all my music from Spotify and the other streaming services

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

It’s a pretty lonely decision and most likely noone will notice, so I started this thread. Maybe some people can relate :smiley:

I started out messing around with synthesizers and grooveboxes at the end of 2020 because for all my life I wanted to make some kind of music. I always thought I couldn’t do it. I thought that using grooveboxes could help me on my way to actually create music. And the Elektrons did! After a few months of trial and error, I realized that I actually had it in me. I’m able to do that. I can make music, it’s not for everybody and far from perfect but it’s there.

After that a period started where I really wanted to get validation for my music. Like get someone else to say that my music is good or whatever. Of course some people said so but it was never good enough for me. Uploading my albums to the streaming platforms made things even worse because there is so much music. And I make niche music, it’s highly unlikely that it will “explode” on Spotify. I always urged myself to create another album, get better and finally make it work. I’m just tired of making another album which will likely cost a lot of time and will reach only very few listeners.

Of course I was never happy with my albums. I liked some tracks but that’s about it. I just enjoy creating new stuff and I get a rush of uploading it to my YouTube channel to get a comment or two :smiley: And that’s what I’m going to do from now on. Make stuff, upload it to my channel or post it here in the current sounds thread - which is the best place to post music anyway.

Just wanted to write a few words about it… Thanks for reading!

PS: On top of that, I also hated the concept of Spotify when it came out… I’m a music collector, a free software advocate and former software pirate - this doesn’t mix well.

PPS: This is not only about “success” but more about the mental burden of having your music in a very competitive environment.

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#2

Not a guarantee but if you wanted others to like your music, it would be good to like it yourself in a first place. If you can listen a few hundred times to your song without wanting to change (anything about) it, then it should be good enough to be released.

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#3

just here to say that I’ve heard your sounds in the Current Sounds thread and on YT and it sounds good, not advocating republishing or anything, just saying it sounds good to me, I understand the phobia from “mass exposure” of spotify/other streaming platforms, imo youtube/bandcamp are perfect for getting things out without having panic attack about “it’s not worthy”

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#4

Faircamp This might be something for you, if your ready to tinker around a bit

edit: i did have similar experience in the past. i don’t like how spotify and streaming services are gate-keeping things. so i pulled everything except from bandcamp, youtube and my own hosted faircamp instance…
but if you want to get heard, your music must be on the same plattforms as the listeners are. i experienced how a person started to create a bandcamp account to follow me but somewhere bounced on the process. wouldn’t have happened with spotify or other “mainstream” services

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#5

sadly the times we’re living in is extremely consumerist. Even if you do create something that would benefit humanity - it needs a marketing budget.

Right now, when you’re planning to publish a software as a service product, or even sell your physical product, it’s expected to allocate double the amount of production budget for your marketing budget.

I don’t believe things can go popular organically nowadays.

you’re not alone Doc. It’s the world that we live in sucks. Pls share your bandcamp link if you have any, wanna listen your stuff now.

if i’m wrong, pls tell me. i’m more than willing to change my mind because I also hate what I’ve just written above

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#6

3 years…. Not even 3 years. With all due respect, but unless you are some crazy prodigy, you can expect nothing more than nothing.

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#7

Yeah, it can still happen organically. It’s a combination. Do some online stuff. Do some shows. Work hard. People see the passion if it shines through. A shiny bright artist gives regular folks a lot of hope in the world, and if the light is bright enough the moths will seek the flame

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#8

Also I feel like, and I guess you could say this of globalisation in general, is that, music is less locative, at least on the distribution side. For instance, I don’t visit Cairo and when there I’m encounter a local artist and buy his CD, he’s just on Spotify. Well, Maybe the discovery part does still exist in the world, say, if you encounter a live busker act. But the actual dissemination of simply recorded artefact, finding a CD at a local bazaar, it rarely exists anymore. The iPhone destroyed a lot about the world actually, ripping everything from the physical world and traded it for a planetful of people staring at screens all day. But I’d love to somehow see distributed music re-embedded in the physical world more, and not just the smartphone or electronic device.

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#9

Thanks for all the comments! Just adding that I’m not leaving the platforms because I’m not successful - it’s only one part of my decision. I even have one track which is getting about 1.000 streams per month on a regular basis :smiley: It isn’t much in the grand scheme of things but a start. But I just don’t care too much about those platforms in general and don’t even use them. I’m also not that interested in creating a perfect product. I want to explore, try things out and move fast in general.

And Spotify takes up too much space in my brain. I don’t want to think about it, that’s all.

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#10

No reason that would not have happened on the mainstream whatever either …

#11

I’m with you on this in a way, but it comes down to how you define popular/successful whether this ends up holding true or not. Can stuff go broad at scale without a marketing budget? The answer is almost 100% no. But can quality find its way to its audience? If you’re smart about placing the quality in near access to people that might appreciate it it, the answer is yes. I’d start out locally, just try to catch the 20-50 people in your surrounding / city that could/would appreciate what you do. Then take it from there.

A friend of mine started a famous online radio 10+ years ago. When I sat with him to discuss the business plan back then, I flat out told him it was a waste of time…because his “marketing strategy” was to allow local DJs to book slots on the station and that way bring their own audience to the station. The other element was to organise local events that would be based on their core values. I didn’t think this would work enough to move the needle.

Suffice to say, I was completely wrong, and the guy built something that is to this day true to its core values (eclectic music, open & diverse, always ad free) AND is super successful. He could probably have a few million listeners a month more if he went into marketing overdrive, but that’s not his idea of success.

I really admire this sort of locally inspired, locally delivered, globally appreciated stuff. The last part is optional also, if it only is locally appreciated, that’s a huge success already and often can be enough to make a half-decent living.

I do seminars, public speaking and stuff like that for a living. I do well enough for my needs, even internationally, and I don’t even have a website or any relevant social media presence. It’s all built on word of mouth from delivering genuine value locally and spreading from there.

The music industry sucks in the sense that it wants you to go global fast or go home. That’s a shit strategy for most people and even when it works out, it is not guaranteed to generate enough returns to make up for the cost of scaling.

Point being: share your music locally, be part of your neighbourhood and its community, treat your own work with love and do your best when you do it…soundest strategy I know of.

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#12

Unfortunately, Spotify makes it too easy for people to upload music, so there’s a complete lack of quality control, curation and standard-setting. Its a free for all.

All the recent outrage about not paying royalties on sub-1000 streamed music was fair IMO… I’d go further… I’d say if streams are that low after a year it should be removed completely…maybe that’s what Soundcloud/Bandcamp is for?
I don’t get where the sense of entitlement comes from with hobbyist attitudes towards Spotify… I get the issues/problems professionals have with it.

I know this might be an unpopular opinion, but, its the REAL issue of genuine (commercial??) artists being fairly paid that is the problem IMO.

So, in relation to the OP, who’s self-confessed the problem I described, I’d well done for taking your stance and being honest. :+1:

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#13

This is just what I’ve been doing as well, and it’s where I’m happy for now.

Interesting timing. I’ve had some peers suggest I upload my stuff to a distribution service or Spotify or Bandcamp in addition to YouTube, but I have been hesitant to do so for about a year now, because I feel similarly about it.

It’s a little conflicting because I do feel that the point of making music is for someone to hear it and enjoy it but at the same time it sort of feels like I’m just adding to a pile of endless musical snacks if I do so in that way.
I suppose that also applies to YouTube.

Eh! :man_shrugging:
On the other hand, it’s overwhelmingly fun to know that there is such an endless supply of sounds out there. Even if finding or making stuff you like takes a bit of digging.

And FWIW, @dr_laemmerbein, I like your sounds!

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#14

Totally get this btw. And that’s completely understandable.

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#15

100%. :+1:

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#16

Creativity always goes together with the urge to have your work experienced. This inherently breeds fear of rejection. It’s a tough cookie!

Please do yourself a favor and order “Art and Fear”, it’s a small book about creativity, way beyond art. It will help you! Specifically in understanding your struggle. And in appreciating your unique voice and creativity. :slight_smile:

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#17

It’s a model in itself that won’t be able to generate fair payment. The whole business model is skewed and fucked. Spotify and other streaming services exploit 97% of their artists / content creators. It really sucks and it breaks my heart for artists who want to make a living off of their art but are not in the “global reach” niche with their art.

unpaid or indirectly paid mass consumption of digital media is a genuine problem not just for the artists but for the consumers as well. The Signal-to-Noise Ratio for most people now is worse than in the 90s.

I do agree with you that bots and people who churn out lofi study beat playlists purely as a numbers game should really be kept off of platforms that promise streaming of quality music…but that’s not what Spotify et al are, they’re also purely in a numbers game (“stream 70+ million songs”) :face_vomiting:

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#18

I do listen to my newer stuff very often and I’m thoroughly enjoying it! But the effect is wearing off pretty quickly - which is the case for any kind of music I listen to. By the time, my music is ready for an album, most tracks feel kind of flat and boring to me.

#19

I think you’re kind of right. What’s really difficult these days is creating something and actually liking it without comparing. That’s what I love about free software (or libre software, just to differentiate it from software which just doesn’t cost money). People create software like Mastodon, Firefox, Ardour, Linux and it’s just out there for you to use, for free! The whole internet is working with free software. Sure, the programmers had expectations but they released their source code for nothing in exchange for others to build upon and learn. I’d love to see a movement like that in this old and crusty thing called music industry.

Anyway, time for some ads, here’s my Bandcamp :smiley: https://drlaemmerbein.bandcamp.com/
But I prefer my newer tracks which you can find on my channel: https://www.youtube.com/@DrLaemmerbein/videos

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#20

This is what I struggle with understanding tbh, and I think my perception of what Spotify actually is is defined by my personal experiences/background.

I tend to think of Spotify as a modern day HMV (record store) that has EVERYTHING in stock.
That’s what it has largely replaced in my world.

But, I’m sure people younger than me view it differently… maybe more like a social media platform.

Either way, I honestly don’t know what Spotify is, it seems very complex.

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