We are back to the Middle Ages where creative professionals–um, troubadours–were whores and marginalized individuals. Except now, between the troubadour and the generous peasants, there is a clever middleman who makes money on bulk.
The 21st century America is a very strange place. Beautiful, bountiful, but strange. It tells me, “I want your music in my catalogue as long as you agree that it’s not special, and I want your booty in my catalogue as if it’s not special, either”. It wants me to line up and lick the conveyor. It wants me to play ordinary. It wants me to march with the crowd and participate in the global sexual act that has been stripped of all magic. The underlying emotion is of disrespect.
What do I say? First, I have no words. Then I cry. I don’t like any of it. It’s counter-everything. It defeats my humanity, my dignity, and my sense of self. It’s a man (and woman) eating machine (I stole it from Grace Jones).
Full disclosure: I wrote this because I care. I am not an industry analyst and I am not trying to be one. But I have a brain, and I hate bullshit. Without further ado…
In a highly publicized BBC interview, British musician Ed Sheeran says that he “owes career to Spotify”. According to Sheeran, the 860 million streams he received on Spotify allowed him to play big shows in the US and sell out arenas in Korea and South-East Asia.
Something about it just didn’t feel right. Smelling a rat, I googled the guy.
I love you, my boy, and I will pray very hard for you to find your way and learn patience in the kindest way. Let the heat of my tears awaken your memory. You are still free, my boy…
We live in a society where the system is set up to disrespect human spirit.
A lot of problems could be solved a lot faster if subjectivity of leaders and free will of followers weren’t played down.
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