Was Jim Morrison right: This is the end?
Or, was he predicting the re-emergence of feudalism thanks to music streaming?
Not to be too melodramatic, but on top of the consolidating realities that have happened in the music industry over the past few years, the last few months have brought to light some especially chilling pieces of information that sure make it seem like we’re at the end point for the music industry as we know it.
To start, hear the wisdom and anger of T Bone Burnett. In a recent interview with Geoffrey Brown, recorded at SXSW and broadcast on NPR News April 28.
The surveillance capitalists confiscated our stuff first. They took our music and said, information wants to be free, so we’re just going to take your music for free.
Then he goes on to point out how the big tech firms made billions in monetizing that “free music, while most musicians are left with no way to earn a living from streaming.
Then there’s the piece published by Freakonomics Radio that also has two telling observations about streaming. First, Daniel Ek’s background He grew up in a music family, thought of becoming a musician, and then was introduced to Napster that opened up a whole new world for him. Ek said, “I don’t think I would have been that…