Welcome to Dropify!

I guess I am making a blog, because it’s definitely not 2018 and really 2008. Is that even too late of a benchmark? But I have some stuff I want to say on a (hopefully) ongoing basis and am too lazy/cheap to make a real website for such a probably inconsequential discussion.

What is Dropify? 

If all goes to plan, this will be part thought experiment, part social commentary, and of course, part music discussion (“music review” is probably too generous to be used here).

As you may have gleaned from the punny title, this discussion will center around Spotify, the world’s 2nd most used music listening service. I am a longtime user of Spotify, and a more recent but still decently longtime premium/paying user of Spotify. To be upfront, I love it. It is a beautifully designed platform, has incredible amounts of music at your fingertips, and its playlist functions (both for your personal use and especially for discovery) are marked by an amazing use of data analytics and predictive algorithms.

But, of course, there’s this, this, and even this. 

Everyone* is aware of the ongoing debate that streaming services pay artists too little. And Spotify of course is not unique in this—all streaming sites are in a similar range. I decided on using them as an example because I use their services. I’ve struggled with this notion in the past, but ultimately made peace with it because, convenience!

This changed for me recently, when reading an article posted on Facebook by Brad of actual-music-website bradleysalmanac.com, which you can read for yourself here.

You should click it, it’s a pretty brief read. But if you didn’t, let me summarize with one key point. The article recounts an alleged conversation with the reporter (also an artist) and Spotify execs. Ultimately, the reporter says this to them:

“Stop calling your subscribers ‘users.’ They’re not ‘users,’ they’re listeners––our listeners in fact. You’re the ‘user.’ You’re using our music to monetize our listeners for your profit.”

As a creator and “artist” myself, this story rubbed me the wrong way. Sure, part of my subscription fee goes to the artists, but ultimately, the majority of my subscription fee is arguably going to the platform of Spotify. Of course none of this is really new information, something just clicked with me in that I don’t feel good about the peace I had made with paying for streaming anymore.

So, here comes the thought experiment!

I am going to cancel my Spotify premium subscription, and pledge to spend at least $9.99/month on content I can add to my music collection. Digital singles, albums, LPs, anything goes. It's something I already should have been doing, but admittedly, have not. I am planning to get as much as I can from bandcamp.com, a platform I prefer as an artist and know many others who do as well, but any store that will give me a physical product or download is on the table.  

Whatever I decide to buy, I will share with you (if there are any of you), and in doing so I will apply theoretical public pressure to stick to my pledge.

So there it is. Happy 2018, let’s see what happens.