Welcome to the era of only Spotify Plays matter - let’s take a look at the underbelly of streaming scams affecting independent artists.
Welcome to the era of only Spotify Plays matter - let’s take a look at the underbelly of streaming scams affecting independent artists.
Not who you asked, but I can tell you where I’m at with that. My primary listening is on an mp3 player, and I also use a home server for listening on speakers/tv. Switching to a separate device used only for music has made my listening far more deliberate. When I pick up the player, I’m making a point to listen to music, not just have it on in the background like I used to. It’s also a pain in the ass (comparitively) to make playlists on it (I purposely chose a scroll-wheel style and no touch screen) so I’m listening to a lot of full albums now, which I never really did before, exposing me to a lot more than I used to since I don’t just throw the song or two I like on a playlist and leave the rest.
There’s been an interesting side effect that I didn’t expect: Being more deliberate with my listening has sharpened my ear to music, I hear music in movies and shows in a way I never used to, I’m beginning to recognize voices and band styles by ear, I actually focus on music now instead of it just being part of the background. As such, I find a lot of new music these days by looking up songs from movies and tv. For example, the most recent:
I completely devoured the Sinners soundtrack. (Ludwig Göransson is a fave and I’ve always been a fan of Buddy Guy)
Watching Dope Thief, I realized I never skipped the intro. Got me hooked on Little Simz
James Gunn has some great taste. Beyond season 1 of Peacemaker, Season 2 has already got me absolutely loving Foxy Shazam, and after the latest ep I’ve been getting into Hardcore Superstar.
Strangely enough, Rick and Morty has some bangers in the later seasons, and got me listening to stuff I never would have like Kishi Bashi.
Additionally, there’s the news. I’ve been listening to Bob Vylan and Kneecap, and only heard of them because they stood up to support Palestinians.
Not only has my listening become more deliberate, but my sourcing of new music has as well. No longer relying on an algorithm to do the work for me has allowed me to hone a new skill and learn how to find new music myself.
I’ve found a lot of the same as you, listening to albums changed me for the better.
Just recently I bought the Horizon Forbidden West sound track on Qobuz at a sale, paid less than 10 Euro per hour. Its weird, I don’t pay attention to the music while playing the game, but listening to the soundtrack almost take me into that world.