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The Death of the Middle-Class Musician

(thewalrus.ca)
300 points pseudolus | 1 comments | 28 Jun 25 22:06 UTC | HN request time: 0.245s | source
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blindriver ◴[28 Jun 25 23:45 UTC] No.44409137[source]▶
Streaming is the biggest scam to have perpetuated the entertainment industry. The way the money is divided among the content creators is absurd and the prices are both too high and too low at the same time.
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tptacek ◴[29 Jun 25 00:07 UTC] No.44409234[source]▶
It's not great. But the economics of selling recordings never worked out for artists; it's possible that most of what streaming does is to kill advances for artists, and royally fuck labels, the perennial antagonists in the stories we tell about the music industry.
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1. bravesoul2 ◴[29 Jun 25 04:42 UTC] No.44410413[source]▶
Music doesn't the buyer money, at the same time millions are qualified to make it and to boot millions enjoy making it. There is little barrier to entry and there is more than enough of it. Even if another song is never made. It's in the sweet spot for being a low paid shithole.

I'd look at NFTs for similar market dynamics. Some big winners but mostly people not making a dime.