I'm interested in your broader thoughts on streaming in general. I've found this topic an especially interesting/confounding/frustrating one to try to get on top of, both personally but also via the various popular think pieces and articles, specifically targeting Spotify.
An idea that I find compelling is the power or... wonderment that users have given over to good UI and how a nice looking, intuitive digital product has the ability to obfuscate ethical issues.
ie/ Spotify's slick product gives consumers a relationship with music that makes the experience so engulfing and "modern" that deeper issues around the platform's compensatory models with artists are pushed far to the fringe of any sane human's attention.
There's this near-comical contrast between Spotify/Apple Music and Bandcamp from a UI and design system perspective.
It's difficult to argue against the idea that platforms like Spotify are exposing more artists—I believe they are—but that's simply one piece of a very complex puzzle that involves (a) artist compensation (b) consumer value and (c) entangled debates around how this new distribution model should work in the wake of a predecessor that had many flaws.
Fun read.
I'm interested in your broader thoughts on streaming in general. I've found this topic an especially interesting/confounding/frustrating one to try to get on top of, both personally but also via the various popular think pieces and articles, specifically targeting Spotify.
An idea that I find compelling is the power or... wonderment that users have given over to good UI and how a nice looking, intuitive digital product has the ability to obfuscate ethical issues.
ie/ Spotify's slick product gives consumers a relationship with music that makes the experience so engulfing and "modern" that deeper issues around the platform's compensatory models with artists are pushed far to the fringe of any sane human's attention.
There's this near-comical contrast between Spotify/Apple Music and Bandcamp from a UI and design system perspective.
It's difficult to argue against the idea that platforms like Spotify are exposing more artists—I believe they are—but that's simply one piece of a very complex puzzle that involves (a) artist compensation (b) consumer value and (c) entangled debates around how this new distribution model should work in the wake of a predecessor that had many flaws.