Music streaming services have been showing monthly streams for artists. We dive into why this hurts independent artists, idolizes artists based on streams & most important of all-should not matter.
In case you didn’t notice the TL;DR-certain music streaming services have started showcasing monthly listeners for global artists. I cannot afford Tidal or Apple Music, so AI did my research for me. There is a division straight down the middle, the dichotomy of whether artist streams per month matter enough to be shown to me; as a listener. Does it change anything? Am I compelled to listen to more of their music? —I dive into this topic in this particular opinion piece.
The short answer is no. You can stop reading this article if you couldn’t care for my opinion, but god bless this column. I’m going to shovel my way into a hole that might lead to a grave, because the truth is not that comfortable. It’s going to make you ask certain questions about where the music industry is leading.
From the streamer’s perspective
Let’s say I’m an executive in YouTube Music or Spotify. The choice to display how many monthly streamers an artist has-is impactful for 3 entities. The artist who is being promoted by the label, the label itself and the streaming service. Unfortunately, the artist promoted by the label does not often own the masters of their own recordings. It seems to be 2:1 outweighed, and it doesn’t feel good.
The way a signing works is choosing a promising artist who has mass appeal. A label pours money and resources unto them, hoping what they produce is the next Sgt. Peppers. Albums don’t really have any impact any more-so call it the next Blinding Lights (4 billion streams). The Weeknd operates his own label XO. Subsidiary of, you ask? Universal Music Group.
Go to his page, he’s “#1 in the world”. Yes, I put that in double quotes. Wondering why? He isn’t the #1 artist in the world for many people, of the world. Just because his music trends, doesn’t guarantee longevity. The entire lens of subjectivity in music seems to be overshadowed by a tiny blue badge at the corner of his bio, if you’re willing to go look for it.
The majority of Earth uses music streaming services, thanks to the convenience. Am I a fiend for vinyl and like to support musicians directly? Yes. Can I stitch incredibly large pockets to show my support for them? You tell me.
From the artist’s perspective
I listen to music as a “critic”. Walk through this story with me. A musician who uploads their music to Spotify listens to music as a smorgasbord of inspiration, along with the layer of being a listener. They find a niche artist, play a song that gives them goosebumps. Spotify’s algorithm, conveniently and slowly, converts the autoplay playlist into what is trending now-along with the bigger names in music. Why wouldn’t it continue the deep cut journey into more artists who don’t hog the spotlight?
There’s limited food on this plate. What the current music industry is leading towards is an intense level of capitalism-only because we don’t have the time to rebel against it. You want to talk about pressure? Let’s.
Mental exhaustion and “making it”
It is easier to become a musician now than ever before. With AI instrumentation, the birth of a bedroom artist happens quite close to real births in the world (forgive my exaggeration, didn’t know I had the fact police reading). Your laptop, some instruments and sheer will is enough for you to put your music out. That also means more artists, more people’s attention you’re vying for.
That also means, to make this your livelihood, you are dependent on playlists that focus specifically on indie artists. Money for better equipment. Money for marketing. There’s a constant financial drain-but money comes in only from merch and album sales.
Therein lies the constant cycle of exhaustion, where most of your energy is gone not in making the music-but to get it heard. If certain coveted artists get the spotlight always, is it possible to get anything more than a couple of hundred streams organically?
The Measure
The measure of the art form is the cultural impact it has. This has several layers-for it can be one kind that affects the globe. Then you have indie acts who are responsible for bringing all the spark to a club or bar. There are in house bands that can do killer covers, and then make their own music sound resplendent.
The measure was never the number of people listening to them. It’s the lives they are indirectly able to change, and even a hairline fracture’s worth makes its mark. How many artists did you know of before their label signings? What makes their music “iconic”? Several talented indie artists refuse to sign their music over to labels so that they can own their legacy. Many look like they have lost out due to this. They didn’t. They made a conscious choice to explore a livelihood where the original recording can be passed down with the family name at the back.
Check out the needle drop talking about the same: https://theneedledrop.com/opinion/stop-caring-about-spotify-monthly-listeners
Running the wrong marathon
It leads to artists looking for something else at the beginning. Jack White recorded everything on an 8-track tape. John Mayer was a bedroom guitarist, learning his rudiments for 8 years. Even The Edge took years to master his sound techniques-and this was post his label signing.
The ethos is such that you’re forcing musicians to focus on how to get their numbers quick. For gigs, artists have to show monthly listeners and streams-rather than how they handle playing live music. Some artists do it as a projection of their psyche-not to chase clout or the way music makes others feel. It’s while supposing, “what can this music do for someone who might like it?”. An interesting proposition-marred by people viewing and listening to artists who they feel are “acclaimed”.
My own experience after listening to an artist’s live performance brought about a pleasant surprise. Artists who had only 400–600 streams, sometimes lesser-but the avant-garde edge they brought just by being themselves was powerful enough. Nothing else seemed to matter to me at that time. That’s how art should be viewed and listened to as well.
A Dream in Flux
Music will continue to make you feel, inspire, pain, bring anger and voice despair. It will also never have an actual face behind it. Treat musicians as the vessel of the incredible music they pour so much energy into. Streams are not a metric we should ever have a spotlight on.
The spotlight should be on the one putting their music out
-for what it does for them, and to us. For the musicians, and most importantly, the music.
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Self professed metalhead, moderately well read. If the music has soul, it's whole to me. The fact that my bio could have ended on a rhyme and doesn't should tell you a lot about my personality.
