'The Death of Spotify: Why Streaming is Minutes Away From Being Obsolete' 70
An anonymous reader shares a column: I'm going to take the diplomatic hat off here and say with brutal honesty: basically everybody in the music business hates Spotify except for the people who work there. It's a platform that sucks artists for everything they have, it actively prevents community building, and, despite all of that, the platform still struggles to maintain a healthy profit margin.
The streaming business model is fundamentally broken. And eventually, its demise will become more and more obvious to recognize. I'll break down exactly why the DSP era is coming to a grinding halt, why the major labels are quietly terrified, and why the artists who don't pivot now are going to go down with the ship.
[...] Jimmy Iovine put it bluntly: "The streaming services have a bad situation, there's no margins, they're not making any money." This model only works for Apple, Amazon, and Google, because they don't need their music platforms to be wildly profitable. Amazon uses music as a loss-leader to keep you paying for Prime. Apple uses it to sell $1,000 iPhones. As for Spotify, or any standalone music streaming company, they're kind of screwed. And guess what -- when the platform's margins are structurally squeezed, guess who gets squeezed first? The artists.
[...] What if Jimmy is right? If the DSPs are "minutes away from obsolete," what replaces them? Well, I'm not sure the DSPs are going to disappear overnight, but if you're an artist or a manager trying to sustain yourself in this evolving music economy, the answer is direct ownership. The artists who will survive the next five years are the ones who are quietly shifting their focus away from the "ATM Machine."
They are building their own cultural hangars. They are capturing phone numbers on Laylo. They are driving fans to private Discord servers. They are focusing on ARPF (Average Revenue Per Fan) through high-margin merch, vinyl, and hard tickets, rather than begging for fractions of a penny from a playlist placement. We are witnessing the death of the "Mass Audience" and the birth of the "Micro-Community."
The streaming business model is fundamentally broken. And eventually, its demise will become more and more obvious to recognize. I'll break down exactly why the DSP era is coming to a grinding halt, why the major labels are quietly terrified, and why the artists who don't pivot now are going to go down with the ship.
[...] Jimmy Iovine put it bluntly: "The streaming services have a bad situation, there's no margins, they're not making any money." This model only works for Apple, Amazon, and Google, because they don't need their music platforms to be wildly profitable. Amazon uses music as a loss-leader to keep you paying for Prime. Apple uses it to sell $1,000 iPhones. As for Spotify, or any standalone music streaming company, they're kind of screwed. And guess what -- when the platform's margins are structurally squeezed, guess who gets squeezed first? The artists.
[...] What if Jimmy is right? If the DSPs are "minutes away from obsolete," what replaces them? Well, I'm not sure the DSPs are going to disappear overnight, but if you're an artist or a manager trying to sustain yourself in this evolving music economy, the answer is direct ownership. The artists who will survive the next five years are the ones who are quietly shifting their focus away from the "ATM Machine."
They are building their own cultural hangars. They are capturing phone numbers on Laylo. They are driving fans to private Discord servers. They are focusing on ARPF (Average Revenue Per Fan) through high-margin merch, vinyl, and hard tickets, rather than begging for fractions of a penny from a playlist placement. We are witnessing the death of the "Mass Audience" and the birth of the "Micro-Community."
Spotify (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Spotify (Score:5, Insightful)
What I've been doing for a long time:
- Actively going to concerts
- Buying CDs (and often directly from the artist after concert. But I also buy them the normal way)
- Occasionally buying downloadable music from various sources. No streaming.
I sometimes do use Spotify, mostly when searching for stuff.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:3)
Soulseek is so much better.
Re: (Score:1)
I just listen to songs I like on YouTube (ads blocked).
Re: (Score:2)
This is where I land as well. When my artists come to town or within a reasonable distance, I'll go to the live show, usually buy a t-shirt. When they drop new cds, many of them direct me to bandcamp, which is a lovely site that lets you download mp3s of your just purchased music. You can even download it multiple times from different devices, so long as you have your credentials.
I don't use Spotify at all. I know plenty of folks that do though. I prefer to a) not pay a subscription or see ads, b) have cont
Re:Spotify (Score:4, Interesting)
I never stream, I just buy the music from the artist. These days they often don't have a physical release, but as long as I get a .flac or other high quality no-DRM file, I'm okay with it.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
For metadata I rely on Musicbrainz and their Picard app, which does all the work for you. You used to be able to use the Spotify API for that and discovery too, but they recently sent an email saying that you will have to have Spotify Premium to use it now (enshittification).
So we get to buy the music again? (Score:3)
Bought it on vinyl, sometimes more than once. Bought it on cassette. Some I also bought on 8-track. Bought it again on CD. Bought it again in digital formats because it easier than trying to copy it over. There are tracks I've already bought 4 or 5 times.
Then switch to streaming, were we bought it a fraction of a cent at a time, every time, frequently with ads, for just 13/month, 156/year to rent the music.
Now we'll get to buy it again in whatever is next, but this time direct from the artists.
Sucks, but nothing new. Good for the economy, I guess.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
I ripped my CDs. Didn't you?
Re: (Score:2)
I kept my CDs. 400+ hanging on the wall over my desk right now.
Re: (Score:3)
So what you should now do is get out your usb-dvd-rom and start ripping your collection. Since you have so many and are starting from scratch, you can probably find some near open source music curation software. It may seem like a daunting task, but just commit to a disk or two a day. Some days you may do more but always try for a disk or two a day.
This is how I approached a dvd collection that was a bit larger then your setup. Turns into a little hobby, collecting movies but slowly and not some mad rush or
Re: (Score:2)
I've ripped my CDs in several formats. And held in several different spaces, including local.
Buying more CDs at yard sales etc. is my filling in the library. Of course desirable music is harder and harder to find, but I had a substantial library before streaming was possible.
But lots of us do not want to bother with ripping media to be enable it for our portable use, with the device of our choice.
Perhaps what Spotify has figured out is that I, for one, do not like what they *want* me to like. I let DJ X cho
Re: (Score:2)
You are pure frakking spam. In fact you are the current more offensive form of spam.
And you should know better. So go flush your workstation and get the virus out, or repent.
Struggling to profit? (Score:5, Informative)
Spotify has been profitable since 2024 and projects increased revenue and profit for the foreseeable future. Maybe other stand-along streamers are having problems, but Spotify is doing fine. Not defending their treatment of artists exactly, but the premise of the headline is nonsense.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quot... [yahoo.com]
Re: (Score:2)
AI will be the death of the recording music industry, not people joining fan clubs and text lists and buying CDs and vinyl they can't play anywhere... When you can have AI generate a song in your favorite style, that sounds just like your favorite artist, and it's about YOU, and it's essentially free...why would you pay a streaming service?
There will still be a market for live performances, although it will inc
Re: (Score:2)
The music industry is so much more then just the RIAA. The record labels may very well be the worst part of the whole thing.
I understand that back in the day recording time on quality equipment to even put out record, be it vinyl, cassette or CD, was quite expensive. You almost had to make a deal with the devil (riaa) to really get access to everything.
Now, your act can outright buy worth enough equipment, mixed with free or proprietary software, and get your music out to the world. I almost imagine it's pr
Re: (Score:2)
Concerts are too expensive for me.
Re: (Score:2)
Concerts are too expensive for me.
Yeah, most of them for me too. Although the local University has tons that are free and are really good quality.
The major touring pop acts are all targeting the 1%, and with no middle class anymore, who can blame them. Those solid gold swimming pools don't build themselves.
So? (Score:3)
And guess what -- when the platform's margins are structurally squeezed, guess who gets squeezed first? The artists.
The artists are already getting fuck-all from Spotify and have been all along, so... so what? 99.999999% of them are already getting nothing relevant for these plays.
Re:So? (Score:5, Funny)
Minutes away ... (Score:2)
'The Death of Spotify: Why Streaming is Minutes Away From Being Obsolete'
They need some sort of "doomsday" clock for this, like the one atomic scientists have [thebulletin.org] for the end of the world, so people can ignore it as much too.
Lefsetz Says.... (Score:3)
I don't always agree with him, and he does go on a bit, but his opinion is usually interesting, at least. Especially on this topic.
https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/... [lefsetz.com]
Who is not mentioned in the article? (Score:5, Insightful)
The music labels - the copyright owners - are barely mentioned in this article at all, yet they are where all the money is going, incrementally, for every stream played.
They're the rentiers sucking it out of everyone else. Spotify does make a profit, but not a large one, because the costs of paying the copyright holders are so large. Yet the share of artist money from the copyright holders is tiny, so the big labels end up rich while artists end up screwed (especially smaller artists, as the article correctly points out) while the record labels end up on top.
It's really not Spotify sucking everyone dry here - it's the record labels, and it always has been.
(I have nothing to do with Spotify, I'm simply pointing out the vampire squid behind the mere octopus this article is blaming).
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly this, and the record labels like everyone else are trying to think about how they're going to get more money. Especially since Artists want more money, and be damned if it lesses the record labels profits, so, here we are.
Re: (Score:3)
Do you think Jimmy Iovine is going to admit to that?
Macklemore had a great song about him: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
can we refer to them as music cartels, music labels is just to benign a term. Perhaps Music IP cartels?
Re: (Score:2)
They're the rentiers sucking it out of everyone else.
I think the word you are looking for is 'parasites'. They are parasites as they do not really produce anything of value; rather, they sit as gatekeepers, preventing anyone from accessing music (either as a creator or listener) for their own purposes.
When did we start taking Substack seriously? (Score:2)
There is absolutely nothing worth reading on a substack/medium unverified opinion fluff piece, why would this get passed off as a "news" for nerds article ?
The entire bases is faulty, Spotify has been profitable for a few years now.
I absolutely HATE spotify (Score:2)
Last fall I bought a knock-off iPod mini with the intentions of switching off but haven't come up with a good way to load my daily podcasts on it before work each morning (without some manual step). I keep meaning to quit it, but haven't managed to do it yet as playing music on the smart speaker is part of our kid's bedtime routine. I loathe spotify, i loathe their not-an-ad ads, I loathe the pop ups, i hate everything about it. If they go out of business so much the better it will finally force me off thei
Wishful thinking (Score:4, Informative)
This is just another attempt of how do we take something you already have and make you pay more for it. That's literally it, and trying to push people to do it by being all "The times are changing! You're going to lose out! Fomo! Switch to this system where we take more money from you and you get less!"
It's not going to happen bruh, at least I don't think so. I use streaming platforms, and spotify itself for the longest time. I do not, I repeat, I do not have time to personally invest into every artist I like the time to join their discord servers, sing their praise, join others in worship for them all, and pay extra for they're music.
While I'm busy on my way to work so that people don't want to work can benefit from a society that at least for now, has enough people working, I'm going to put some music on. If I have I put a bunch of effort into it, I'll just listen to my own voice flipping people off for their crappy driving, as I don't have time for that other crap.
They've been waging a war on every drop of our time, through work and everywhere else, and they're going to keep losing.
I don't understand streaming (Score:3, Insightful)
I don't understand the attraction of streaming. Especially streaming that you have to pay for.
I have all of the music that I want as mp3's and play them on whatever devices I choose, at no ongoing cost.
I guess that doesn't get me any "modern music" but I have no interest in that anyway.
Maybe I'm just an old coot who's out of touch with modern culture.
Re: (Score:2)
Especially streaming that you have to pay for.
It's convenience and being advertising free.... I don't want to have to find and store music for it to be ad free. If I'm on a road trip, or during my commute, or whatever - and I decide I want to hear something specific or new - "Hey Google - Play " Bam - there it is. No hassle, No wait, No searching, No ads...That's what I'm paying for. And with YT premium, you're also ad free on Youtube itself, which is it's own killer feature when you're watching on a smart tv, or you're at a hotel where many now h
Re: (Score:1)
Thank you ever so much for your helpful input.
I had hoped to spark some discussion about the benefits of streaming and why people want it and are (apparently) willing to pay for it.
So again, thanks for providing us with your remarks on this subject.
Re: (Score:2)
I see upcoming concerts for artists I like, had no idea they
Re: (Score:2)
Think of it from a position of an 18 year old. They haven't had 20-30+ years to build up collections. Most of us on this site probably have had that time.
If you have nothing and spotify has a free tier with ads (does it?), then you can hook them young. Once they can pay, some will to get rid of the ads. Once they got you hooked, it seems silly to just "buy" 12 songs when they can already listen to them for free or as part of an unlimited sub that cost about the price of a CD.
It's not entire the younger crow
Re: (Score:1)
Thank you. Sincerely.
That's a perspective that simply hadn't occurred to me.
And it makes a great deal of sense.
Modern culture does indeed seem to be geared toward own nothing and rent everything.
I recently setup my own streaming station (Score:2)
Nothing I'm sharing with or accessible by others, mind you, it's for my own use. It's a proper radio automation setup, complete with scheduled blocks of music and all that. I rarely program specific songs, but rely on category-based scheduling to fill the bulk of the schedule, and then I don't touch it and just let it play. It's that nice balance of my favorite songs and a forced feed of things I don't normally listen to.
I've bought more music to throw at this project over the past couple of months than I h
The problem is the labels, not the streamers (Score:4, Insightful)
> "It's a platform that sucks artists for everything they have"
This is the biggest lie in the industry, and that artists are buying it at all is part of what's going on here.
The problem is NOT the streamers. The problem is the record labels. The labels are making a TON of money from streaming platforms, because they (not the streamers) have managed to setup contracts with artists that don't pay artists their fair share of the streaming revenue.
Re: (Score:2)
no one uses amazon music to justify for prime (Score:2)
prime is for free shipping and nothing else. no one has prime for the basic music catalog nor prime video
Re: (Score:2)
prime is for free shipping and nothing else. no one has prime for the basic music catalog nor prime video
Of course not, I have it for the unlimited photo storage. 5000 photos for only about $99/year. A bargain.
What do we want (or don't)? (Score:4, Insightful)
First of all, as others have already pointed, the premises of the opinion are very flawed. Spotify is profitable and the big earners are the labels.
Second of all, I'm all for artists owning their own music and receiving better payment for that. And although I'm a heavy Spotify user, I really don't care if it explodes tomorrow.
But, what I would definitely NOT want is fragmentation, just like we had with TV and movie industry. I don't want every other label launching it's own platform and creating silos so I end having to pay even more to them if I want to listen any music. Same goes for the individual artists: I don't want to have to use a different app or website to search and listen each one of them.
What I would gladly accept? Some kind of platform/aggregator where I can find artists, listen their music and pay directly to them. They can be free to choose their pricing and the way they charge. A small fee for every play? A larger sum for indefinite use? Maybe a price for a whole album? They can even offer some musics free as a sample.
I think something like that can be fair for artists and fans.
Re: (Score:2)
I think something like that can be fair for artists and fans
Not gonna happen. AI is going to eat the recording industry. The only money will be in live performances and celebrity management.
Wrong Perspective (Score:2)
This is written from the perspective of artists. But most people who care aren't artists- they are consumers.
Hardcore music fans and hipsters may be interested in "micro communities" where they buy a bunch of merch from a band you probably haven't heard of, but most people just want to be able to play whatever random music suits their fancy at the moment. They aren't going to engage with private discord servers to curate a special playlist from their micro community just to put some tunes on in the car.
Musi
My resolution this year is to own more music (Score:3)
I have Apple Music and it's FINE, but I'm annoyed at how often I have to authenticate myself for my own goddamn music. Now, a lot of the music is stuff that I already own that I've uploaded to Apple to match for me, but I want to be able to say that I own my music, that I can take my ball and leave any time I want.
The main reason I still use Apple Music/iTunes is that there is STILL no music player with smart playlists as good. I still have playlists that are things like, "select 25 songs by least recently played from the compound list of other playlists that are selected by rating and play frequency". I've looked, and nothing else is remotely as powerful. But I want to be in control of that music so if one day I decide I'm gonna put it on an SD card and just play music only on a physical device hooked up to speakers and never use my phone again or whatever, I have that option.
And I love some of the artists whose albums are in my library as streaming only. I want them to get paid for the amount of enjoyment I derive, and I know that streaming rates are absolute garbage. Return me to the days of the iTunes Music Store and CD Baby and Bandcamp. (I still buy from Bandcamp quite a lot. More this year.)
Re:My resolution this year is to own more music (Score:4, Insightful)
Return me to the days of the iTunes Music Store and CD Baby and Bandcamp. (I still buy from Bandcamp quite a lot. More this year.)
Something like Bandcamp works reasonably well - The listener gets to own the music. The artist gets comparatively well compensated.
Bandcamp is not generally used for major artists. It is more of a home for less well known artists, who often have a fan base that are happy to support them financially. That's partly due to appreciation of the music, but also acknowledges that helping to pay for an indie musican's rent makes better use of your money than letting it go towards helicopter polish for a major artist.
Re: (Score:2)
Bandcamp is not generally used for major artists.
I just tried searching for "Rolling Stones" and found fakes of the real thing. How does this protect artists? They could at least include the year that the band was created or joined Bandcamp.
Hate to be that guy (Score:2)
What's the M in ATM machine again?
Off-line mode. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I've been doing this for ages. Buy a phone with enough storage and store my music all on it. Solves connectivity, price, availability, and audio quality issues all in one.
Re: (Score:2)
Direct purchase (Score:4, Insightful)
All the music I have purchased in the past 10 years has been direct purchases from the artist. Granted, I have bought very little music in that time. But if an artist has direct sales, I will make the purchase from them.
Grateful Dead (Score:4, Insightful)
DSP? (Score:3)
Is Digital Signal Processing dead?
Jimmy (Score:2)
Sure, because I would ever trust the word of the one and only prophet - the proverbial Jimmy. Who is he anyway?
Spotify is doing fine and has been profitable for a while. Yes, they've made a number of controversial changes to the platform, including AI addition, but it's still the best music platform I know.
No it's not (Score:2)
Long live Spotify! (Score:1)
Grok-
As of early 2026, Spotify (SPOT) is experiencing strong financial performance with record user growth, significant profitability, and a high valuation. In Q4 2025, revenue hit â4.53 billion (7% Y/Y increase) with 751 million monthly active users (MAUs) and 290 million premium subscribers. The company reported operating income of â701M and improved gross margins.
Spotify
Spotify
+1
MAFIAA ruined it (Score:4, Insightful)
It's the devil you know (Score:2)
I use Spotify free in the gym only, ( need phone to swipe the door) otherwise I would just use my old Sansa Clip. My one grumble is that it adds songs to my playlist.... especially ones I don't like. Shit band comes on, swipe to skip... here's Spotify , " oh you skipped that song! Here's 3 more from that same artist!!
Anti-streaming is anti-democracy (Score:2)
For years, I had a SiriusXM device in my vehicle. It was fine but it's so effing repetitive and limited. Not to mention that I don't want to hear a damn DJ every other song. Just place some effing music! And why does Bruce Springsteen warranty his own channel let alone any other musician?
Then I switched to Spotify. I like it a lot. The one thing the would make it better is applying AI to song recommendations. Sure, it recommends songs that I haven't heard in decades. It's nice for the nostalgia facto
Music and "music" (Score:2)
Music itself is basically dead since about 1990. The only thing that survives is extravaganzas with weird poetry and some musical instruments making some kind of noise.
Podcasts (Score:1)