What We Talk About When We Talk About Spotify

Five ways to change the unfairness of digital streaming

I recently posted my appraisal of the year end cavalcade that is Spotify Wrapped. The piece took Spotify’s annual listener stats and put them under the microscope to begin to understand just how little of the revenue that is generated by Spotify actually goes back to artists.

Immediately, on social media, text, and myriad other avenues, I began to hear from people in all walks of my life. Friends got defensive and began waxing poetic about how much they spent on vinyl this year. Other folks regaled me with their impressive list of live shows in 2023. Within minutes, everyone in my social sphere was justifying their music budget. Then there were those who simply saw it as the great deal for customers that it actually is, and they thought no more about it.

My hope was that the essay would force folks to acknowledge just how little of the money from their monthly subscriptions actually goes back to artists. What I received instead was the virtue signaling of well meaning music fans.