Spotify thing 2018 wrapped.ooo, i have 1.2m listens, fuck off…did the musicians just become the suits? Shouldn’t be important! Check your ego’s you numptys! And an extra big fuk off to the people thanking spotify too, you lot get the prize for being the most deluded of all! Rockwell also makes a good point below about buying straight from the artist, with Bandcamp being a phenomenal service in that regard. Spotify could certainly do more to reward artists, ideally via higher or fairer payment per stream. There are valid criticisms of a streaming system that doesn’t provide the types of financial rewards given by that of physical sales and purchased digital downloads, and there is an undeniably valid discussion to be had about its merits. But it also reveals another generational divide, that regarding the means of how these artists are found and how their music is digested by streaming sites such as Spotify. This makes it all the more galling that artists in positions of influence and power are using that position to cast shadows over the success of the next generation instead of supporting them.

If you told those originators back in the 1990s that one day, people exactly like them would have that sort of reach, they’d be blown away. It’s not just Aperio, either: Revaux and Telomic are just two more examples of small artists showing their pride, whilst Emperor and Hybrid Minds are much larger acts that are equally as grateful to the fans. The fact that from his bedroom in York, his music has made its way to over 60 countries is a testament to how far he’s come and how far this scene has come from its origins in London tower blocks, pirate radios and illegal raves. The fact that he’s managed to reach hundreds of thousands of people with his music – OUR music – is incredible and should be celebrated not scorned. He’s the epitome of a grass-roots producer – the type that this scene was built by. Aperio is 22 years old, a recent graduate and someone who’s only been releasing music for a couple of years. Take someone like Aperio, for example, who I interviewed for this site last month. Any attempt to discredit, dishearten and dis-appreciate the hard and dedicated work put in this year by those at the new, cutting edge of D&B is both strange and salty. Most of the artists who have shared their stats genuinely and excitedly are precisely the types of people who need to be supported. Secondly, why isn’t the immediate reaction by artists, when shown the success of their fellow artists, to be happy for them? This is especially relevant to D&B – where’s the so-called one love now? Another thing to add to this is that a lot of those posting their stats were young, fresh producers, not members of the old guard who have enjoyed the luxury of vinyl sales when you could buy a small car off the sales of vinyl (or even ‘shit on a piece on vinyl and still sell 4000 units’ as Fresh reminded us last month) That’s a big statement, so it needs backing up.įirst off and also most simply – who cares about what other artists are tweeting? Where’s the need to portray them in a bad light, over something that doesn’t affect you? But for the exact same reasons, the opposite opinion can be articulated here: publicly making fellow artists feel small for expressing happiness or satisfaction with their own musical career hurts the type of open, inclusive music scene these artists rely on. All of them suggest the same thing sharing your yearly stats as an artist on social media is arrogant, places too much emphasis on numbers in comparison to the music and is generally annoying.Įveryone has a right to their opinion, of course, they’re more than able to post about whatever they like, as much as they like.

I don’t care how many Spotify streams you had this year & am sure most of us feel the same. Unfortunately these shares have been met by a combination of disdain, anger and cynicism. While this is clearly a razor sharp marketing ploy by Spotify to get everyone sharing links to their platform, most artists sharing it have been genuinely pleased with their stats. Some artists, especially the new generation, have been pleased enough with their stats to share them online. In case you need to catch up Spotify’s Wrapped 2018 campaign tells artists the amount of plays they’ve had, how many fans they have, how many hours have been spent listening to their music and the number of countries in which people have tuned in. Since last Thursday, when the streaming platform provided all artists and fans with their listening stats for the year, some of saltiest and cynical sides to certain factions of the D&B community have been on display. The drum and bass scene has had its fair share of beef, drama and internal politics over the years, but few events in recent memory have kicked up such a furore as this weekend’s Spotify stat sharing scandal.

Spotify for artists wrapped 2018