Music ranks second among all types of content that interest social media and YouTube users, trailing only short entertainment videos in the vertical "smartphone-friendly" format—you know, those often referred to as "brain rot" videos. This is unequivocally confirmed by a joint study conducted by Patreon and the analytics firm NewtonX.
Essentially, modern musicians are already social media influencers, whether they like it or not. They need to produce additional content beyond their music to have any chance of breaking through the general noise first, then the competitive noise created by fellow artists.
Sadly, music creators also have to capture the attention of the impersonal algorithms on streaming platforms such as Spotify, Tidal, and others. These algorithms heavily rely on listener behavior metrics for ranking new music. In other words, if people engage positively with a song—for instance, adding it to their personal playlists—the algorithm starts recommending it to a larger pool of potential listeners, and so on.
It seems logical at first glance, but it's not entirely so. Thanks to streaming service algorithms, people worldwide now perceive music itself as a kind of utility.
You might ask how this aligns with the fact that musical content remains the second most popular type of content on social networks. We’d venture to explain this paradox as follows: The music industry appears to be splitting into two major streams right now. One of them is the “service-oriented,” mainstream stream, which employs brain-rot videos, among other tools, to achieve maximum reach and ultimately drive high track plays on streaming platforms.
The second stream consists of indie labels and unsigned musical artists who are skeptical about royalties from streaming platforms due to their paltry per-stream rates. Instead, they build a creator-driven economy using alternative platforms. These artists create valuable content for social media users to cultivate a base of true fans and migrate them to platforms like Patreon (which we'll discuss later).
Analysts at MIDiA, a company specializing in music market research, have even put forward their own "bifurcation theory," asserting that the global music business is transforming before our eyes into two distinct music businesses with fundamentally different approaches.
In essence, the "bifurcation theory" states that the economic model of streaming platforms has proven quite predatory toward emerging artists. Their tracks, in technical trading terms, represent the "long tail." That means peak music consumption centers on a small pool of well-established artists, while everyone else settles for scraps of residual listener and algorithmic attention.
In 2024, Spotify controversially announced that authors and rights holders of tracks in the "long tail" that failed to garner 1,000 streams within 12 months would no longer receive royalties from streams.
Currently, the situation stands as follows: music consumption thrives on streaming platforms, benefiting major labels and artists in the short term. However, fandom operates independently of these platforms, flourishing instead on social media and other alternative venues.
Cultural music capital is shifting towards digital social communities over the medium term. And "longtail" artists are increasingly realizing that their future recognition lies anywhere but on streaming platforms.
Streaming music consumption has alienated listeners from artists, turning them from listeners into mere consumers. Too many major artists and labels treat these consumers as a mass of unthinking children with scattered attention and an insatiable appetite for fleeting, kaleidoscopic entertainments. It’s reminiscent of fast food in its most cynical business incarnation.
We can reasonably argue that the young economy of digital superstars, streaming hits, and TikTok sensations is becoming outdated. It's not much of an exaggeration for younger artists to say, "Your entire mainstream music ecosystem is a 'scuff economy,' and its dominance won't last much longer."
But what distinguishes this new branch of the music business, which largely comprises small labels and independent artists? Its defining characteristics have already emerged:
- No desire to appeal to every single listener, focusing instead on specific scenes and niches;
- Utilization of Creator Economy tools rather than chasing streams on major platforms;
- Building a fanbase, cultivating both the artist's identity and that of their followers;
- Focusing on the needs and tastes of the fanbase (without pandering to them), composed of genuine fans, eschewing the pursuit of mass, indifferent audiences;
- Emphasis on fair compensation for the artist (creator), sourced from dedicated fans;
- Creation and development of closed communities accessible under certain conditions.
All of the above already exists and works. For example, on Patreon, 15% of all paid content comes from musical artists. The renowned platform Bandcamp allows fans to purchase files—not just stream them, including high-resolution ones—and sell merchandise. Additionally, Bandcamp charges a reasonable commission ranging from 10% to 15%, significantly differing from the exorbitant demands of intermediary companies in the traditional music business.
The new ecosystem of the "music creator economy" isn't limited to widely known services—it continues to evolve dynamically, with new "intermediary" projects emerging between listeners and performing artists. Unlike the mainstream approach, these initiatives aim not to distance these two groups but to bring them closer together.
As noted by music market analysts and journalists involved in the subject, both the audience and the artists have developed new demands that will eventually be met.
For instance, the reign of algorithms in the independent music business must come to an end. Curatorial informational music media, possibly hybrid in nature—simultaneously functioning as niche outlets, showcases, and stores for digital goods—are once again required.
There also appears to be a demand for the creation of new streaming services designed from the ground up to avoid the flaws of existing ones. Such services could:
- Eliminate recommendation algorithms and grant full control over recommendations to communities of engaged human curators;
- Remove the ability to skip tracks;
- Require listeners to pay consciously for access, understanding that they're purchasing something akin to credits for listening (with limits), ensuring that each stream pays artists at least one cent or more...
It seems likely that the emergence of such platforms, along with curatorial hybrid music media, is imminent and may materialize in the near future.
Here are several straightforward reasons why artists should embrace blogging. Even in the mainstream music world, labels no longer seek out unknown talented artists. Instead, they look for those who have already amassed a following on social media, ready to scale it further. This practice has earned labels the label of "parasites," as their original role was supposed to involve introducing listeners to fresh, interesting music—not hitching a ride to commercial success on the backs of artists who’ve done the hard work of self-promotion themselves.
At the heart of the new "indie-music-creator-economy," its pioneers—successful unsigned indie artists—urge their peers to CONTINUE working for themselves and reject labels and shareholders of streaming platforms, whose behavior grows increasingly predatory.
By the way, did you know that the average royalty rate for streams on major platforms is steadily declining? According to data from Duetti, a company operating in the music catalog rights market, in 2024, the average amount a music rights holder received for 1,000 streams was $3.41 USD. This figure has been falling since at least 2021 when artists received $4.04.
Another reason stems from our biological and mental limitations. Unlike trendy music-generating neural networks, human artists cannot organically produce more than one moderately interesting track every two to three weeks. Maintaining such productivity requires immense willpower and can only be sustained briefly.
Composers, music producers, and performers outside major "content factories" also experience burnout, just like anyone else. Producing good music consistently is simply impossible at times.
However, your fans still crave content from you. The age-old wisdom "a person needs another person" hasn't lost its relevance. They want to see you, approve or critique you, empathize with you or question the necessity of empathy. Simply put, they want to know everything about you on social media. Give it to them—it's in your best interest.
Amidst the trend of cluttering social media and the internet with low-quality, often blatantly fake AI-generated content, genuinely homespun, non-glamorous, human-made content is becoming a scarce commodity.
Such content will always remain in demand. Indie artists should take advantage of this opportunity, not in a purely utilitarian business sense, but with genuine personal engagement. As for the specific types of content artists can offer to their current and prospective fans, we’ll delve deeper into that topic in a separate article.
