alt Hacker NewsIn the music space, piracy won.
After Napster, there was no going back from giving people immediate unlimited access to everything.
Streamers like Spotify learned that there’s a price point that is low enough for people to “round down” and forget it’s on their monthly credit card statement, but high enough that major label execs are happy. The trick is ignoring what the artists want.
Replies
The artists wanted to sign with labels.
Jokes on us, after all has settled. Have you tried to buy a ticket to live music lately? It was $750 for a good seat in more than 1 occasion this past year, and that is first market tickets from the venue, not a traditionally 'scalped' ticket.
These two equations are tied together. Before, the lucky artists were front-loaded their buckets of cash from the labels. But now the royalty cheques are measured in pennies and the live music enjoyers seem to be the equalization payments.
Bandcamp does ok without ignoring what the artists want. I think the biggest issue with buying directly from the musician isn't the price but the friction of purchasing online