this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2025
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Welcome to the era of only Spotify Plays matter - let's take a look at the underbelly of streaming scams affecting independent artists.

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[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 41 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (3 children)

I remember that time and it was kind of awful. It was brutal in terms of packaging, and lugging around all those cds sucked. It was way more expensive and the money still all went to record companies, not to mention how terrible it felt to pay full price for a mostly garbage cd just for one song (singles existed though but not for everything).

Records companies also had final say on who we listened too and completely controlled the whole scene essentially.

I get the nostalgia but it was 100% worse both for artists and consumers. Well it has always been rough for artists tbh, I don't know if it's harder right now or not.

[–] Soggy@lemmy.world 6 points 12 hours ago

They want fuckin 40 bucks for a vinyl these days and they don't even throw in a digital download for that price, and the radio is owned by like three companies unless you live near a college station.

[–] yesman@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (1 children)

The contracts that steal music from artists haven't changed one iota. Unless you've got juice like Paul McCarty, Beyonce, or Taylor Swift, and even then it can be a fight that takes years.

[–] Grimy@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

I have a feeling it's easier to put your music out there as an independant artists. There's always someone taking a cut but the contacts are optional and there isn't much gate keeping like before.

[–] LainTrain@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

This 100%. Just because capitalism makes streaming unethical doesn't mean we need to go back to old studio system of other capitalist bastards to serve as gatekeepers of art.