NPR Music has an interview with Sylvan Esso. They pulled their catalog from Spotify last year because of the CEO's ties to an
#AI weapons manufacturing company. They just reversed that decision and they're back on
#spotify. If you are interested in my thoughts, they are below. The interview is a good (if not always happy) listen, too.
The band talked a lot about how the return decision wasn't just about the money; it was about the exposure, getting their
#music out to fans, etc. Uncharitable view: I guess it was about the money and the fame, and they were turned back into a band that hadn't "made it."I don't have any strong judgments (despite thinking they were a bit weasely with their words). They're not fabulously wealthy (AFAIK), and only a few artists have taken this step at all. I admire them for doing this, even if it's disappointing that they reversed their decision. Leaving Spotify is a difficult, potentially career-ending decision for a
#band or other artist. It's an incredibly simple decision for a listener. It's not fair to lay the moral weight of supporting an evil corporation on the artists.Their return to Spotify signals to others that Spotify won. Some people will see that as "Spotify's CEO's decisions are OK," but I think most people understand that Spotify simply has a lot more power.The artists explained that leaving Spotify hurt every aspect of their careers, not just streaming: concert ticket sales, CD/vinyl sales, purchases through their own sites, and their contact with fans and other artists.If this is what leaving Spotify does to "the last middle-class band in the world", then Spotify has anticompetitive market power and needs to be broken up--not into different services, but into multiple companies that directly compete with each other.Americans are, by and large, incredibly stupid about antitrust regulation.
It wasn't a triumphant or happy interview to hear, but I am left with a helpful message: It is easier for me to support my favorite artists doing the right thing than it is for them to do it alone.
Final thought: When asked if leaving Spotify led to conversations with other artists who had done the same, the answer was No. It sounds like nobody (read: much more wealthy and successful artists) was interested in support or even contact with other artists taking a similar risk for similar reasons.
#SylvanEsso #justice #activism #protest
