Commercial music is always in search of what’s going to scale. It’s why streaming services are always going to be wired for music that streams well. This is part of what independent artists are up against today: the supposedly neutral streaming platform that encourages artists to create value on its own terms, one that cares more about playlist streams than creating a sustainable situation for artists. The problem is not the chill-pop streambait musicians, or even the TikTok plants, but these self-replicating systems that continuously reward the same styles—whatever users will stream
...more
