By Max Luebbers ’16, Entertainment Editor
I had planned to give you all a review of Adele’s new album, 25, but was unceremoniously presented with this:
“The artist or their representatives have decided not to release this album on Spotify just yet. We’re working on it, and hope we can change their minds soon.”
Adele seems to have become the next big name in the notorious “anti-streaming” cadre that has been gaining support from the likes of The Beatles, The Black Keys, and Taylor Swift. While it’s inconvenient that I have to pull out the old jewel cases just to listen to “Rubber Soul”, I’ve resigned myself to the fact that some labels are just too protective of their rights, and with big names like the Beatles, I doubt they’ll ever be seen on music streaming services.
What’s not understandable is the claims Swift made in 2014 after the removal of all of her music from Spotify. She gained support from those who believed that the minuscule rates given to artists by the streaming services somehow decreased the music’s value. It’s easy for one of the industry’s biggest earners to tell the indies to follow her lead, but the truth is that for most small-time artists, streaming-services lower the barrier of entry into the mainstream. Of course Taylor Swift and other big name artist’s don’t seem to be doing any help or harm. Spotify doesn’t seem to be failing and neither is Taylor Swift, but what really gets me is the idea that menial pay off for your work somehow makes the art worth less. For many, the biggest hope is to just be heard and maybe garner some hype for tours and merchandise. Nevertheless most groups are strapped for cash. With most of the bands earnings going to managers and maintenance, there doesn’t leave much for the members themselves. Ian MacKaye, straightedge front man of punk legends Fugazi and Minor Threar, puts it perfectly: music is for sharing. No one would make music if they didn’t want other people to hear it, but that doesn’t mean that every group can afford to release their music for free. In a public interview MacKaye speaks of his time in Fugazi, and their plans to release a free album. This idea was quickly brought to a halt by the bands inability to pay the bills for the $44,000 production costs. Instead MacKaye suggests that listeners become “patrons of the arts.” It’s reminiscent of a sales model that has become increasingly prevalent in the past few years. Name-Your-Price albums offered by sites like BandCamp and mixtape services like SoundCloud allow bands to ask for donations to pay for gigs and studio time but also allows listeners to sample the music for free, meaning increased exposure through word-of-mouth. Some big names in music have already adopted this model. Cult darlings Radiohead released their 2007 album, In Rainbows, to commercial and critical acclaim via their website for free, but with the option to pay what you want.
A healthy balance has to be made here. The likes of Adele and Taylor Swift aren’t making much impact, but neither are their concerns unwarranted. The music industry is notoriously brutal and artists only get a tiny share of the profits made on their music (often a band will get less than a hundredth of a cent for a stream). However this phenomenon is not inherent or exclusive to streaming services like Spotify. Album sales in general make even big names very little money. A majority of the income will be made through touring and merchandise, and we can’t forget that in order to get big guarantees on gigs, artists will need a significant amount of buzz. This exposure is vital to an artist’s success and a fair bit of this will come from music streaming. BandCamp and other similar sites offer a good alternative. It cuts out the middle man and allows groups to name their own prices, while simultaneously acting as a major storefront for new music. With all this talk of money however, we should not forget MacKaye’s point: music should be shared and listened to. Music gets its value from the listener not the money.
If you want to hear more from Ian MacKaye, Google “Ian MacKaye Seattle WA (The Vera Project).”
Image Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/10/27/adele-new-album-25-is-going-to-be-huge/74703650/
