'free-market capitalism remains the most efficient driver of wealth creation, and culture should be similarly Darwinian.
'All markets require regulation and cultural markets arguably even more so, where financial gain is not the sole objective.'
Both cannot be true. Free-market capitalism refers to the political/economic philosophy of people like Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek, who would not advocate regulating the arts. I assume you mean sensibly regulated markets. Music requires all sorts of state intervention to thrive, ranging from Art Council Funding to state school music education, not to mention a healthy welfare state and healthcare system. When British music was at its peak (1960-2000s) these were all in a good way. The Beatles would never have come about were it not for good state education and a cheaper standard of living.
I think it's impossible to ignore the B-word. Brexit has made Britain less cool and interesting, more insular, and less of a leader in the world. It makes it harder for artists to come in, and it makes it harder for artists to go out. Our nearest neighbours can no longer swing by, and no longer view us in the same way. I'm not suggesting everything is reducible to Brexit, but I can list many musician friends who left within 2-3 years of the referendum.
I hope Britain starts building bridges again with its neighbours, helping out those who are struggling to get by, and taking arts funding and education seriously. I can't see any short-term fix to long-term self-inflicted damage.
Why ‘worryingly’? What is it about Spotify that is supposed to be fair? Trying to find sense or reason in Spotify only legitimises this platform. It should be smashed into pieces and those pieces buried.
'free-market capitalism remains the most efficient driver of wealth creation, and culture should be similarly Darwinian.
'All markets require regulation and cultural markets arguably even more so, where financial gain is not the sole objective.'
Both cannot be true. Free-market capitalism refers to the political/economic philosophy of people like Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek, who would not advocate regulating the arts. I assume you mean sensibly regulated markets. Music requires all sorts of state intervention to thrive, ranging from Art Council Funding to state school music education, not to mention a healthy welfare state and healthcare system. When British music was at its peak (1960-2000s) these were all in a good way. The Beatles would never have come about were it not for good state education and a cheaper standard of living.
I think it's impossible to ignore the B-word. Brexit has made Britain less cool and interesting, more insular, and less of a leader in the world. It makes it harder for artists to come in, and it makes it harder for artists to go out. Our nearest neighbours can no longer swing by, and no longer view us in the same way. I'm not suggesting everything is reducible to Brexit, but I can list many musician friends who left within 2-3 years of the referendum.
I hope Britain starts building bridges again with its neighbours, helping out those who are struggling to get by, and taking arts funding and education seriously. I can't see any short-term fix to long-term self-inflicted damage.
Why ‘worryingly’? What is it about Spotify that is supposed to be fair? Trying to find sense or reason in Spotify only legitimises this platform. It should be smashed into pieces and those pieces buried.
There’s a lot of good music in the UK nowadays, no matter what Spotify’s chart says