Been Caught Streaming

Can you be an ethical music consumer in 2022?

As we’ve spent more time at home in the past few years than ever before, a lot of us have consumed a lot of new music. More time spent at home on the couch or working without coworkers around has given many the freedom to listen to an abundance of new music and while that has been great for fans, it’s not yielding better results for musicians.

As I’ve talked about before, the pandemic has changed the musical landscape in so many ways. Concerts aren’t happening at the same scale as they were in 2019, but CD and vinyl sales appear to be up. Adele broke records with 2021’s 30 which saw an unprecedented half-a-million vinyl copies get ordered by manufacturers. CDs also saw an upward trend for the first time in seventeen years, but to call it a revival is still wrong and I’ll explain why later. Even while the latter two stats seem to be a good thing, it’s actually unclear if that’s true. Streaming still makes up over 80% of music consumption and “sales,” but artists aren’t the ones benefiting.  

One thing consumerism can ensure is that, as buyers, we’re not always concerned with the return sellers are getting, meaning, most of us don’t think about whether the person singing the song is actually making any money off of this, but rather, what will be best for me? If I want to listen to new music, I can pay a rather minimal fee and pretty much be guaranteed that I can listen to practically anything I want, whenever I want. For most of us, that’s good enough or the only concern in general. However, if you’re looking to actually support the artists, the path is a little more complicated. Essentially, it’s left me, at least, with the question: how can you be an ethical consumer of music in 2022?

Ticket sales to concerts are generally the most lucrative funnel for musicians and you can make much more money from concerts than you can from record sales. Or at least you could at one point in time. In a pandemic, however, that is almost non-existent, or at the very least, it’s no longer reliable to anything close to the scale it was prior to 2020. This leaves us with merchandise (tshirts, posters, pins, etc) in addition to album sales as the only real options for any kind of steady income for an artist. However, even that feels as unpredictable as ever. So, with the loss of a major revenue stream such as touring, it highlights just how dire the situation has become for so many and how hard it is to find a path towards financial stability.

When I wrote about the vinyl crisis, I highlighted the fact that for indie musicians, the future would be grim as delays are now making releases for 2022 all but impossible. If a band or artist plans to release an album this year, the odds of it coming out in a physical format are pretty slim (unless the album has already been done for a while and they're just waiting as long as possible to announce it). However, even if a band has managed to dodge the timeline bullet, the global supply chain issues are now catching up and the demand for PVC (a key material in vinyl records) has risen, making records more expensive than ever. It’s a new hurdle for both fans and artists. I recently saw that Nala Sinephro’s excellent debut album Space 1.8 (one of my favorites from 2021) was back in stock via her label and once again available for purchase. I went to her Bandcamp to buy the record from her directly only to notice by the time I got to checkout that the total (including shipping) was $39. That’s a lot for a single, standard album. Immediately I felt a pause. I wanted to support an artist whose music has really connected with me after I spent months streaming it on Spotify. However, I had a hard time justifying paying that much for a single album. Especially when I could continue listening to it on streaming services at a price much more appealing to my wallet. Building a record collection is an investment in time, but can also require some kind of disposable income and I don’t believe music should only be enjoyed by those who can afford it.

As a music enthusiast, I will admit that I really despise Spotify and take every opportunity I can to inform others of just how awful they are as a business and the crimes they commit against artists. However, I do admit that the convenience is almost incomparable and will convince the vast majority to never actually start building a physical music collection. Still, the revenue share is almost non-existent and I find it hard to believe that any artist could maintain a career solely on the profits earned from the streaming behemoth. Lately, it feels almost as if they’ve stopped trying to hide their lack of morals and just how little they care for artists. 

My Bloody Valentine, a band who has kept a lot of their catalog off streaming services for a large part of their career, took to Twitter in January to call out Spotify as they “put fake lyrics up for our songs without our knowledge. These lyrics are actually completely incorrect and insulting. We’re not sure where they got them from, probably one of those bullshit lyrics sites on the internet.” This was co-signed by members of Cocteau Twins who’ve reported a similar issue. I’d also implore you to listen to Phoenix’s track ”Love Like a Sunset Pt 1.” and read along to the lyrics (which at the time of publishing are) provided by Spotify. The song is an instrumental piece, but if you feel like taking it to karaoke night, they have you covered.

Of course, I don’t expect anyone to use Spotify for their lyrics feature, but it does bring to light how little they seem to care or put resources towards anything that would benefit a band. To me, it seems easy enough to not include lyrics unless provided directly by the band or record label. It’s also worth noting that it seems pretty easy for people to upload songs to incorrect artists. I can’t tell you how many times I listened to a song listed by the artist Panda Bear trying to figure out how on earth this could be by this musician only to see the song disappear from his profile a few days later.

These are small, but telling signs that feel like a blatant disregard to those they claim to be supporting. It’s easier to see this when you examine just how much the company supports Joe Rogan, a known anti-vaxxer who spreads vicious lies and dangerous rumors regarding the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. In 2020, Rogan signed a $100million exclusive contract with the streaming giant to be the sole platform on which you can listen to his podcast. Currently, Spotify does nothing to inform his audience of the lies he spreads, but continues to reward him, handsomely, for doing so. Artists, meanwhile, continue to take home less than they would from Spotify after an entire year of streaming than they might be able to make via a single Bandcamp Friday. To compare, “Spotify generally pays between $.003 and $.005 per stream, meaning you'll need about 250 streams to make a dollar.”¹ If your song gets one million streams, that’s $4,000.

Huge shoutout to my number 1, Neil Young, who earlier this week, called out Spotify and said “They can have Rogan or Young. Not both.” An impressive stance that was well-received by other musicians. If other major artists did this as well, it’d be interesting to see how Spotify would start to respond.

Streaming isn’t going to pay the bills and with giant corporations seeming to only care about themselves and a profit, paying monthly subscription fees has started to feel like you’re feeding the beast that is set to destroy you. Even if I never listen to a second of Joe’s disgusting show, my money is going to him and not the bands I spend 60,000+ minutes a year listening to so it almost defeats the purpose and makes me question, daily, why I don’t ditch the subscription.

Earlier, I mentioned that for the first time in seventeen years, CD sales were on the rise. Since vinyl prices are skyrocketing and supplies can’t keep up with demands, are CDs (again) the way of the future? Not so fast. Yes, CD sales grew last year, but that was almost entirely thanks to Adele. Seriously. In 2021, she claimed 2.35% of all CD sales, which may not seem like a lot, but given that CD sales only rose by 1.1% (that’s the “increase” everyone keeps talking about), she’s the dominant force. Taylor Swift and BTS are also the reason as they sold 2.21% and 2.54%, respectively. In total, those three artists made up 7.1% of ALL CD sales. If it’s a revival, it’s a revival for a very select few. Massive thanks to Damon Krukowski of the seminal band Galaxie 500 and Damon & Naomi for his endless contributions to the struggles facing artists and sharing a lot of this data.²

Still, physical formats are the best way to actually support an artist and there are ways to do it, but it might mean suffering a bit more as a fan. Again, shelling out $30-$40 for a single album isn’t going to be a common practice for most people. Suffering is harsh, but in my opinion, I do think there are some socially conscious ways to go about supporting artists and, just like so many other things, it does mean sacrificing some of your own convenience in order to actually benefit those making the music. Purchasing vinyl, at this point, will most likely result in a long wait time before you’re able to hold the music in your hands. For example, I bought Radiohead’s Kid A Mnesia box set in the first week of September when it was announced. It hit streaming services and non-deluxe, standard copies hit stores in November. I received mine in the mail on January 24. That’s a long time to wait to enjoy something I spent a decent amount of money on, but I have no regrets as I know the proceeds hit the band directly and not someone else. Although I’m sure Radiohead members are doing alright without selling expensive reissue packages. I don’t think deluxe editions are the answer, but I think buying vinyl and CDs can be a starting point (along with other merchandise like tshirts, pins, posters, etc) until we can all feel safe buying concert tickets again. Buying the music directly from the artist’s website, record label, or Bandcamp page is the ideal way to go as well. Buying from your local record store is a close second, followed by some independent chains (Rough Trade and Newbury Comics, for example), and last would be major retail chains like Target and Walmart before you hit your absolute last resort which, of course, would be Amazon.

At this point, I’d even advocate to not stream music on YouTube as they’ve left videos by violent artists like Marilyn Manson on their platform, even if the video includes actual footage of sexual assault and rape. Seriously.

I’ll be the first to admit that I use Spotify nearly every day and at the moment, I am strongly debating downgrading my account to an unpaid plan where I’ll suffer through ads when I listen to music. However, I am confident that my record collection and dedication to live music offsets my streaming addiction. I also don’t think this is a problem that fans need to solve, this is on the labels and corporations, but I do feel some kind of responsibility to do the right thing and help support art that means something special to me. I grow more and more upset each day knowing I contribute to the profits of corporate greed when I could be using my monthly service fee to buy more physical products and send that money straight to the pockets of creators. Expecting everyone to begin amassing a record collection or digging out CD binders from basements and attics also isn’t realistic, but it can be a start and being aware of your actions is a great first step.

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It’s always a good idea to stream @NeilYoungNYA. apple.co/NeilYoungEssen…

1. Business Insider, February 24, 2021

2. There is No CD Revival, Dada Drummer Almanach, January 25, 2022