Diving deeper into why music isn’t appreciated as much as it should be. Streaming platforms, here we go again, for years have pushed us to listen to as much music (and as many songs) as possible because it’s good for their bottom line. They understand that most people don’t just sit in front of their hi-fi installation listening for hours on end with their eyes closed in full awe of every little detail journeying from album to album.

     No, they fully understood that, with our shortening attention span, they could push more music by making you put it on in the background and compliment the mood you're in. That’s why there are copious amounts of playlists like lo-fi study music and even wellness playlists so listeners don’t have to think about what’s playing and streaming services could brag to stakeholders about the absurd amount of hours people were ‘listening’ to music.

     They have been pushing this way of listening for a bit over a decade now and the wear and tear is starting to show. For example, the average hit song has decreased dramatically in length over that same time [1,2] and music has become more and more ubiquitous. No more investing heavily in vinyl or CDs. No trips to the record shop in the next city. Just open your favourite streaming app and everything is there. For free. Sounds nice, right?

     The answer is clearly no. Or well… it depends. In the short term, sure. It’s music heaven for consumers. In the long term, much less so. The platforms’ algorithms promote certain kinds of listening that promotes making songs in a way that pleases the algorithm instead of being a genuine piece of art that doesn’t follow the rules of the mainstream. And so the creativeness seems to go out the door in favour of more plays (and thus higher royalty fees). Or to put it another way, the quality lessens.

     So streaming platforms, and by extension the big music labels[3], are pushing music in a direction where the quality and our appreciation for music in general are waning. Low appreciation means low value and thus people are not willing to pay as much for music and this hurts all the artists involved who make and play great music. So many of my friends are great musicians who produce great tracks but are constantly scrambling for work because they just don’t get paid enough. I reached out to a place for a gig once and when I asked for the fee, they told me I could invite friends and get €50,- worth of pizza.

     We need to re-appreciate the art of making music. The struggle of making an album and grinding on it before it can be released much later. Take a moment next time when you’re listening to music. Every track took at least days of work to make and years of work to learn the skill to do it. And that it’s worth buying great speakers and just sitting still in front of them listening with your eyes closed seems to be an act of defiance nowadays. So, for next time, try to fully appreciate the album you're listening to and how amazing music can be if you give it space.

**     How do you support the artists that make the music you love?**

     Diving deeper into why music isn’t appreciated as much as it should be. Streaming platforms, here we go again, for years have pushed us to listen to as much music (and as many songs) as possible because it’s good for their bottom line. They understand that most people don’t just sit in front of their hi-fi installation listening for hours on end with their eyes closed in full awe of every little detail journeying from album to album.

     No, they fully understood that, with our shortening attention span, they could push more music by making you put it on in the background and compliment the mood you're in. That’s why there are copious amounts of playlists like lo-fi study music and even wellness playlists so listeners don’t have to think about what’s playing and streaming services could brag to stakeholders about the absurd amount of hours people were ‘listening’ to music.

     They have been pushing this way of listening for a bit over a decade now and the wear and tear is starting to show. For example, the average hit song has decreased dramatically in length over that same time [1,2] and music has become more and more ubiquitous. No more investing heavily in vinyl or CDs. No trips to the record shop in the next city. Just open your favourite streaming app and everything is there. For free. Sounds nice, right?

     The answer is clearly no. Or well… it depends. In the short term, sure. It’s music heaven for consumers. In the long term, much less so. The platforms’ algorithms promote certain kinds of listening that promotes making songs in a way that pleases the algorithm instead of being a genuine piece of art that doesn’t follow the rules of the mainstream. And so the creativeness seems to go out the door in favour of more plays (and thus higher royalty fees). Or to put it another way, the quality lessens.

     So streaming platforms, and by extension the big music labels[3], are pushing music in a direction where the quality and our appreciation for music in general are waning. Low appreciation means low value and thus people are not willing to pay as much for music and this hurts all the artists involved who make and play great music. So many of my friends are great musicians who produce great tracks but are constantly scrambling for work because they just don’t get paid enough. I reached out to a place for a gig once and when I asked for the fee, they told me I could invite friends and get €50,- worth of pizza.

     We need to re-appreciate the art of making music. The struggle of making an album and grinding on it before it can be released much later. Take a moment next time when you’re listening to music. Every track took at least days of work to make and years of work to learn the skill to do it. And that it’s worth buying great speakers and just sitting still in front of them listening with your eyes closed seems to be an act of defiance nowadays. So, for next time, try to fully appreciate the album you're listening to and how amazing music can be if you give it space.

**     How do you support the artists that make the music you love?**