
Having rescued recorded music, Spotify may upend the industry again - tnolet
https://www.economist.com/news/business/21734488-its-clout-streaming-could-allow-it-sign-new-artists-itself-challenging-major-record
======
AndrewUnmuted
I wouldn't say Spotify "rescued" recorded music. Rather, they merely softened
the blow iTunes dealt the music industry years prior.

If their distribution service is any indication, a Spotify record label would
likely churn out focus-grouped mass-audience sonic piddle at razor-thin
margins, in exchange for business favors from the Big Four and lucrative
partnership deals with overpriced vodka brands. This won't result in an
evolved or improved music industry, just a music industry with a new top dog
leading the pack, who will be adopting the same tired, lowest-common-
denominator approach as their predecessors.

These guys at Spotify aren't exactly the most creative entertainment
executives to walk the Earth. For how long they've been around, they've not
gotten a whole lot accomplished. They've done a poor job at filling out their
catalog and have not done nearly enough outreach to the independent labels.
They should be able to take on TicketMaster in the live concerts game at this
point. Yet, their biggest tech-brag to date is being able to generate
somewhat-compatible playlists for users of non-adventurous tastes, on the most
fundamental and superficial musical data points. ("Oh, you like this specific
sub-genre of electronic music? Here's more music that has been described as
existing within that same sub-genre category.")

Given the data Spotify is exposed to, they should easily be able to give me
better recommendations than my local record store clerk. But they can't. Of
course, Apple's services does not fare any better, but at least Apple has an
excuse: they also make computers and phones. Apple only uses the music
industry as leverage for acquiring users into their ecosystem.

Spotify, on the other hand, only does music distribution. And they do a
horrible job at it, cheapening the art in the process, and severely limiting
the control the user has over their music. If we want music to ever recover
from the shit-tastic way the Napster issue was handled, we should hope that
Spotify's grubby paws stay far away from the music production space.

