I feel your frustration, Darren and thanks for writing honestly.
What you said about “blind acceptance” reminded me of something I wrote recently as a kind of manifesto for my bandcamp only record label. (I may move that label to Subvert if they decide to move towards a payment processor that is cheaper than PayPal and not lining Peter Thiel’s pockets.)
My label is a hobby. The artists keep their rights and any proceeds generally go back to the artists after costs.
I don’t expect to get paid for it and the project is hyper-local. We released a compilation yesterday and via two release shows between London’s Shacklewell Arms and tonight’s show at my venue Where Else? we are creating memories and through paths to real connection and joy.
A lot of artists upload their music to all of the streamers and then it’s just there. I’m constantly reminding local artists to put a physical time stamp on it by hosting a release party or gig to coincide.
The label is called Awkwardness Happening:
“Awkwardness Happening is a record label dedicated to amplifying the idiosyncratic voices of the Kent underground. Founded on harmonious community and DIY ethics, the label exists
to document the beautiful mess that happens when art and place collide.
In an age of frictionless technologies amid a population coerced into mindlessly gorging on the 'all you can eat buffet' of streaming "content" and advertising apps, we are advocates for something that we like to call "scarce convenience" and a more intentional model of
consumption.
What is "scarce convenience"?
It's a realisation that the seemingly convenient comes at a cost for someone else and then
eventually you.
Peel away the layers of what makes your life so comfortable and you'll realise that the
convenience is only a fleeting myth - it barely exists.
Frictionless fictions that allow you to blindly consume the idea that you have taste.
In the post-truth, tech oligarch dominated landscape you have no taste.
How can you taste anything when you can taste everything at once 24hrs a day, 7 days a
week?
All of this being said, we ourselves are far from perfect and at times are susceptible to being
hoodwinked by the marketing of the convenience myth.
We want to serve music and its creators justice by consuming it at a slower and more
intentional pace and we hope you will join us in challenging the cultural norms that we have
come to accept in Western society with regards to the valuation of music.
For these reasons, you will not find an Awkwardness Happening release on Spotify or any
equivalent platforms that strip music of its value, meaning and context.
You can still find the music easily though. Just go to your web browser and type in
'awkwardness happening bandcamp' and voila. Click, click - Magic!”
It probably won’t change the world but I hope that people can gradually snap out of the spell of Silicon Valley and disobey the fluid whims of the tech market. We have technology at the tips of our finger tips and I think coding is the new punk.
I think what we’re urgently lacking is a new consensus as you allude to. The current consensus is to do whatever big tech says.
for me Silly -Con - Valley has houdinied the public for two decades definitely. Silly Con Valley just used music as a driver. Nothing will grow from Silly Con Valley. All society is doing is just making them richer while culture dies continually and people ask why. Culture is human physical interaction as the driver not from a keyboard or a device.
I think a completely new mentality is needed, which will be followed by the technology. I don't believe that there is a one-size-fits-all, scalable, uncorruptible platform that can solve musicians' problems. To me, that is a Silicon Valley myth, and somewhat monopolistic and imperialist by nature.
I believe this is where we need to head:
Accept that meaningful, dynamic, digital music systems may be no larger than an indie record label. They will not be open to all, any more than anyone can release on Warp Records. They will require a hired programmer(s) to build and maintain.
Such systems will not scale to even a fraction of the size of streaming platforms or social media networks. Their draw will be their uniqueness, and how they are customised to a particular style of music or scene.
The systems will not scale past a certain point. The goal will be to make a mentality 'scale'.
The systems will be hybrid online/IRL. Meaningful connections are formed in person, but digital can offer something for the moments in between and the geographically distant.
The systems will not data harvest, but will understand their audience through traditional means: live events and direct conversations.
The systems will sell music that is dynamic and uses algorithms not to recommend music but for artistic and musical ends.
The systems will be built to offer musicians a living from their music; few people will get rich, but many could get by.
I think this is possible. The first thing is to create a radical shift in mentality and belief in what is possible. If all goes to plan, I will be working on this within the next year. I've already toured an installation globally for 10 years, so I have seen ideas like this work.
I agree, as usual, with most of what you're saying here. For me the big question remains if we really need to see people flocking towards platforms like Subvert or Nina "with any sense that Spotify et al should be worrying". Maybe it is fine for now to just slowly and organically start building and using alternatives. I just took a look at Subvert today and it sounds and feels good. Why talk it down right away, just because it doesn't scale instantly? Bandcamp wasn't built in one day either. (It was sold on one though.)
TBH I don't feel I am talking down either Subvert or Nina; I'm engaging with both (MU has its own hub on Nina for example) and I do say that I feel both are commendable. I think my observation is more that these are great services that just aren't seeing the level of engagement I'd perhaps like to see, making it less a reflection on the platforms and more one on music fans not leaning into it all enough.
But you are right, Rome wasn't built in a day, so perhaps these will keep growing and challenging. I'd certainly love to see that, for one!
Let's hope so. And I absolutely agree with you that for most mainstream listeners, the current system seems to 'work' so there's no real need for them to seek out alternative platforms.
At the end of the day... The thing that a platform is going to enlighten or make a change is an elusive butterfly. A platform is just to suck up content not alter culture. Culture is human oriented in real time not a keyboard. People have lost sight of this. Culture happened in room or building where human energy can bump off each other. This is why culture is stale and frozen or in a bad way. machines can't drive culture.
I feel your frustration, Darren and thanks for writing honestly.
What you said about “blind acceptance” reminded me of something I wrote recently as a kind of manifesto for my bandcamp only record label. (I may move that label to Subvert if they decide to move towards a payment processor that is cheaper than PayPal and not lining Peter Thiel’s pockets.)
My label is a hobby. The artists keep their rights and any proceeds generally go back to the artists after costs.
I don’t expect to get paid for it and the project is hyper-local. We released a compilation yesterday and via two release shows between London’s Shacklewell Arms and tonight’s show at my venue Where Else? we are creating memories and through paths to real connection and joy.
A lot of artists upload their music to all of the streamers and then it’s just there. I’m constantly reminding local artists to put a physical time stamp on it by hosting a release party or gig to coincide.
The label is called Awkwardness Happening:
“Awkwardness Happening is a record label dedicated to amplifying the idiosyncratic voices of the Kent underground. Founded on harmonious community and DIY ethics, the label exists
to document the beautiful mess that happens when art and place collide.
In an age of frictionless technologies amid a population coerced into mindlessly gorging on the 'all you can eat buffet' of streaming "content" and advertising apps, we are advocates for something that we like to call "scarce convenience" and a more intentional model of
consumption.
What is "scarce convenience"?
It's a realisation that the seemingly convenient comes at a cost for someone else and then
eventually you.
Peel away the layers of what makes your life so comfortable and you'll realise that the
convenience is only a fleeting myth - it barely exists.
Frictionless fictions that allow you to blindly consume the idea that you have taste.
In the post-truth, tech oligarch dominated landscape you have no taste.
How can you taste anything when you can taste everything at once 24hrs a day, 7 days a
week?
All of this being said, we ourselves are far from perfect and at times are susceptible to being
hoodwinked by the marketing of the convenience myth.
We want to serve music and its creators justice by consuming it at a slower and more
intentional pace and we hope you will join us in challenging the cultural norms that we have
come to accept in Western society with regards to the valuation of music.
For these reasons, you will not find an Awkwardness Happening release on Spotify or any
equivalent platforms that strip music of its value, meaning and context.
You can still find the music easily though. Just go to your web browser and type in
'awkwardness happening bandcamp' and voila. Click, click - Magic!”
It probably won’t change the world but I hope that people can gradually snap out of the spell of Silicon Valley and disobey the fluid whims of the tech market. We have technology at the tips of our finger tips and I think coding is the new punk.
I think what we’re urgently lacking is a new consensus as you allude to. The current consensus is to do whatever big tech says.
for me Silly -Con - Valley has houdinied the public for two decades definitely. Silly Con Valley just used music as a driver. Nothing will grow from Silly Con Valley. All society is doing is just making them richer while culture dies continually and people ask why. Culture is human physical interaction as the driver not from a keyboard or a device.
Great article Darren.
I think a completely new mentality is needed, which will be followed by the technology. I don't believe that there is a one-size-fits-all, scalable, uncorruptible platform that can solve musicians' problems. To me, that is a Silicon Valley myth, and somewhat monopolistic and imperialist by nature.
I believe this is where we need to head:
Accept that meaningful, dynamic, digital music systems may be no larger than an indie record label. They will not be open to all, any more than anyone can release on Warp Records. They will require a hired programmer(s) to build and maintain.
Such systems will not scale to even a fraction of the size of streaming platforms or social media networks. Their draw will be their uniqueness, and how they are customised to a particular style of music or scene.
The systems will not scale past a certain point. The goal will be to make a mentality 'scale'.
The systems will be hybrid online/IRL. Meaningful connections are formed in person, but digital can offer something for the moments in between and the geographically distant.
The systems will not data harvest, but will understand their audience through traditional means: live events and direct conversations.
The systems will sell music that is dynamic and uses algorithms not to recommend music but for artistic and musical ends.
The systems will be built to offer musicians a living from their music; few people will get rich, but many could get by.
I think this is possible. The first thing is to create a radical shift in mentality and belief in what is possible. If all goes to plan, I will be working on this within the next year. I've already toured an installation globally for 10 years, so I have seen ideas like this work.
None of this is inevitable, but it is possible.
I agree, as usual, with most of what you're saying here. For me the big question remains if we really need to see people flocking towards platforms like Subvert or Nina "with any sense that Spotify et al should be worrying". Maybe it is fine for now to just slowly and organically start building and using alternatives. I just took a look at Subvert today and it sounds and feels good. Why talk it down right away, just because it doesn't scale instantly? Bandcamp wasn't built in one day either. (It was sold on one though.)
TBH I don't feel I am talking down either Subvert or Nina; I'm engaging with both (MU has its own hub on Nina for example) and I do say that I feel both are commendable. I think my observation is more that these are great services that just aren't seeing the level of engagement I'd perhaps like to see, making it less a reflection on the platforms and more one on music fans not leaning into it all enough.
But you are right, Rome wasn't built in a day, so perhaps these will keep growing and challenging. I'd certainly love to see that, for one!
Let's hope so. And I absolutely agree with you that for most mainstream listeners, the current system seems to 'work' so there's no real need for them to seek out alternative platforms.
At the end of the day... The thing that a platform is going to enlighten or make a change is an elusive butterfly. A platform is just to suck up content not alter culture. Culture is human oriented in real time not a keyboard. People have lost sight of this. Culture happened in room or building where human energy can bump off each other. This is why culture is stale and frozen or in a bad way. machines can't drive culture.