Recorded music was going this way whether it was Spotify or someone else that drove the final nail into the coffin.
I remember when I was a child, on a Sunday afternoon, my dad would put on an album and listen to it. Just listen. Very, very few people do that now.
Now we have a lot of demand for “incidental music”. Something you listen to while you do something else. Driving, reading, surfing the net, coding, cleaning…
There was a fundamental shift in how people consumed music that started around the time music became portable. Spotify won the race, but if it hadn’t been Spotify, it would have been someone else.
I'm curious. When do you think music became portable?
The transistor radio was invented in the 1950s. And quickly became used as background music as life progressed.
Also incidental music is not a new thing. Tavern musicians as background music have been around for centuries. It is hard to prove, but likely for thousands of years.
No no. Incidental music and "music you listen to while doing something" are not the same.
Listening to incidental music all the time devalues music. And we do it not because we wanted it but because Spotify, Apple music etc promote it. Until then "just play random stuff that this ML thinks is similar" was not a thing. But subscriptions make them more money than if they just let you buy albums and stream what you bought. I wish more artists didn't sign up for this but unfortunately big labels did.
But you can listen to non incidental music that you have specifically chosen while doing something. Even your dad could be doing something while listening to music (thinking).
A positive effect for performers is that people still want to go to concerts, but less and less people know how to play an instrument. The market is really much better now than even 10 years ago.
I remember when I was a child, on a Sunday afternoon, my dad would put on an album and listen to it. Just listen. Very, very few people do that now.
Now we have a lot of demand for “incidental music”. Something you listen to while you do something else. Driving, reading, surfing the net, coding, cleaning…
There was a fundamental shift in how people consumed music that started around the time music became portable. Spotify won the race, but if it hadn’t been Spotify, it would have been someone else.