What do you do when you're an undergrad student and you've written a line for percussion, and you sent it to your percussionist friends, both of which said that they could play it at speed after about 10 minutes of practice...
But the percussion professor who will be performing it emails you and tells you it's too hard and you need to change it?
I can't just tell this Dr in percussion to chop up but also like...they're straight sixteenth notes at 140? And two 21 year olds can play it fine???
Things that will annoy me as a harpist: composing with what are clearly piano fingerings in mind. Not only have I had to count out the notes to work out my rhythm (sextuplets), but I've also had to rework out how to fit it between the two hands; harpists only use eight fingers, not ten like pianists. The fact it's been divided between the staves in this way makes it more awkward to read, so I'm probably going to have to pencil in the notes for some of the groupings. Composers, this was a mistake made by a well-known and respected composer. Learn from it- if in doubt, give your harpist one straight arpeggio to work with, don't divide it between the staves like this.
I was sitting on the lifeguard stand watching kids swim ya know pretty typical right? and then outta nowhere this GORGEOUS idea for a melody for a song I’d been working on popped into my head and I was like THIS IS IT THIS IS GONNA WIN ME A TONY SOMEDAY I GOTTA PUT THIS ON STAFF PAPER PRONTO but guess what? I couldn’t because I was on the lifeguard stand and I had twenty minutes of shift left, so like a completely sane person would do, I hummed the same four bar melody on an endless loop for twenty straight minutes then the second my shift ended I grabbed my phone and recorded it.
What Can We Do About Spotify’s New Payment Policy?
Spotify’s recent announcement has made many small artists mad. (See this post where I’m mad about it for more information as to why or shoot me a message if you have specific questions!)
Here are the things to do in case you don’t want to read my long explanations:
1.) Reach out to your favorite small and large creators.
2.) Look into other streaming platforms.
3.) Ask Companies for Statements and Send Feedback.
4.) Contact News Organizations
5.) Reblog and Share Your Experiences Online
I’ve provided more detail on each step under the cut. Feel free to add to this list, too!
1.) Reach out to your favorite small and large creators!
Not a lot of people are talking about this, one way to fix that is to bring it up, especially to those who have platforms. Podcasters, YouTubers, and especially musical artists. Large artists on Spotify have the clout to make a difference, but getting influencers to spread the word will be helpful as Spotify desperately wants to control how this change is perceived. (They literally framed their policy as giving millions to “new and emerging artists”, though if you read the policy you’ll see that’s not the case.)
Also send your favorite small artist a kind message about their music as many are feeling invalidated by this decision.
If you’re an artist: Politely ask artists you look up to for advice or opinions, express your distress if appropriate.
If you’re a fan: Politely express your concerns to larger artists and ask if they have an opinion. Also look for ways to help support small creators you enjoy. Not everyone can afford merch or to buy a song outright, but even a message can help keep us motivated.
2.) Look into other streaming platforms. Both artists and consumers:
It’s no secret that streaming platforms pay artists almost nothing per stream, but artists are entitled to their money no matter how little. There are plenty of other streaming sites so if you currently pay to use Spotify, now may be a good time to consider other options before the policy goes into effect in 2024.
Obviously Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Youtube Music are all options if you’re looking to pay for a new service that’s popular and has a similar catalog/features to Spotify. However Youtube videos on an artists official channel will also help support and there are plenty of other options like Tidal or Sound Cloud.
Try to see how these companies compare in price and artist payout to make a decision that best fits you.
Also! Streaming Options I Just Learned About:
Resonate is a site that offers a “Pay2Own” model. Essentially, you only pay when you listen, doubling the cost each time, and once you’ve listened to a song enough to have paid about $1.40 it’s yours forever and you don’t have to pay more. And most of that money goes straight to the artist as Resonate is a CoOp.
SonStream is more direct and has you paying about $0.03 per song. Straightforward. If you don’t listen, you don’t pay. Meaning you can adjust how much you spend if needed each month rather than paying a regular subscription. They just put out Android and iOS apps and it’s free to use, meaning you only pay for what/ how much you listen to. If you want to more directly support an artist, see if they’re on there.
For consumers and fans: There are a lot of options for gaining access to music while still supporting artists, go forth and discover what's right for you!
For artists: See what sites will be best for you, if your distributor doesn't distribute to a site you think is good for you, see if you can upload it yourself.
3.) Ask companies for statements and send in your feedback.
Now is an excellent time to attempt to contact Spotify, Distributors, Labels, and other involved companies for statements about this issue. The more they have to talk about it, the bigger deal it will be. Contact their competitors, ask for their statements. Ideally, they’ll be forced to release public statements and add to the spread of news.
Additionally if their shareholders get upset, Spotify will sweat even more. If you’re a shareholder or know one, please open up the conversation.
Now is also an excellent time to tell Spotify that you don’t like this choice as a consumer, then come back in a week and do it again. Keep the pressure on. You give them money to access music while supporting artists. If the artists you choose to listen to aren’t compensated, why give them your money?
Contact other services as well. If you’re a customer for another service, emphasize to them how you dislike Spotify’s decision and want to ensure they keep paying their artists.
If you are an artist: Contact your distributor or label. Tell them your concerns and ask how they are going to help you.
If you are a consumer: Figure out how to give feedback and send it. Try multiple avenues. Always be polite, but firm.
4.) Contact News Organizations
Again, Spotify really wants to control the narrative. We should not let them. Send a tip to your local newspapers or news stations. Contact major news stations. Tweet at them.
If you’re a consumer/ fan: Contact stations and politely ask if they have any intentions to cover this story. Explain how you’re disappointed that other stations aren’t covering it. If someone in your local area has covered it, offer praise (or if it was covered poorly, critique) and ask if they plan to follow up. Point to any public statements from artists or companies.
If you’re an artist: If you are comfortable, try reaching out as above and offer to interview with them (especially if it’s for a local story). It’s good for your business as you can get in front of people, and show how this is affecting artists in your community. If you’re not comfortable with that, you could also release a public statement on social media and point the news in that direction as a source.
5.) Reblog and Share Your Experiences Online
I’ve seen a lot of people say that only fake artists (AI and bots) will be affected by this. If you are a small creator and are comfortable/ safe doing so, share how this policy will affect you. It will help us be seen and help fight that argument that no "real" musicians are being hurt.
And if you’re comfortable, reblog this post or talk about these changes on your socials. Share Spotify’s Statement and point out the flaws in their argument.
Not everyone comes to Tumblr for this sort of thing, I totally get that. Not everyone wants to be faced with cold reality on their fun app and you are not obligated to engage in cold reality on Tumblr. That’s not what many use Tumblr for, but I find it strange that something like this isn’t being talked about more on this platform. Kind of seems like something Tumblr users would care about, so let’s spread the word and talk about it.
And that’s what I have. Look, some of the things in their update are good. Trying to stop AI shenanigans and people gaming the system is a good thing. However, the 1000 streams per track policy will hurt Spotify’s smallest creators far more than those putting in minimal effort.
Thank you for your time and good luck to my fellow small musicians.
