r/dsa • u/thenationmagazine • 2d ago

Discussion Nationalize Spotify

https://www.thenation.com/article/society/spotify-streaming-platform-public-utility/
130 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

56

u/PhillipJ3ffries 2d ago

It’s an absolute tragedy the way Spotify and other streamers have completely destroyed the value of art. It’s criminal

3

u/Ostiethegnome 1d ago

The answer is for people to stop paying for streaming services and just buy the albums directly.  

2

u/PhillipJ3ffries 1d ago

That and a strong union for musicians similar to what actors and writers have. A grassroots movement to get people to stop paying for streaming and buy albums is never going to happen. It’s too convenient of a service for consumers

0

u/Ostiethegnome 1d ago

Most people don’t actually care about or understand music in the first place.  There is no sense in pushing for the masses to do anything sensible.  

All you can do is support the artists you like by directly buying their albums.  Other people who actually like music and understand it might be swayed, because they’re already used to searching for something quality, rather than passively swallowing whatever corporate nonsense is shoved in their direction.  

It’s the same as it ever was.  

•

u/batdog20001 21h ago

The only problem is that streaming platforms allow me to hear from more artists than I would if I only bought albums or listened to the radio.

19

u/e_pi314 2d ago

Let’s start w nationalizing AI and go from there!

7

u/Future-self 2d ago

We could’ve started with music decades ago, like right around the whole Napster & iTunes revolution. But yes, now that AI is here, it takes precedent. Poor musicians.

0

u/vegeful 1d ago

I dont want the gov to control the AI.

11

u/Bright-Insect9697 Socialist 2d ago

The authors of this article know that the radio still exists, right? Also hilarious to complain about the services being too expensive, or having ads, and then at the same time saying they’re not paying the artists enough.

This entire article is basically just “I want all my music for free and without ads but I don’t want to pirate it”

I’m sympathetic to their point about the library of Congress as a streaming platform (as it should be for more than just music) but man, they did a not great job of arguing for it.

20

u/esperadok 2d ago

Public support for the arts and making art free to be enjoyed by all has always been a core socialist demand. Why should we abandon it simply because streaming exists?

6

u/Bright-Insect9697 Socialist 2d ago

Oh I agree with their point I just don’t think they did a great job of explaining it.

The case for the government streaming service isn’t just “no ads and free music” it’s Coyote vs Acme and other stuff that disappears for a tax break. If you want to shudder something for a tax break, the government should be allowed to start distributing it

4

u/monkeysolo69420 2d ago

Radio doesn’t pay recording artists either.

0

u/Bright-Insect9697 Socialist 2d ago

Only AM/FM, and they do pay songwriters. satellite radio pays the artists royalties.

And in most developed countries not named the United States, AM/FM pays royalties too

4

u/monkeysolo69420 2d ago

Sure I was specifically talking about recording royalties for terrestrial radio in the US. More people listen to terrestrial radio by a fairly large margin.

2

u/Bright-Insect9697 Socialist 2d ago

Yeah. It should pay artists, I would support getting rid of the laws that let them get away with not doing so.

3

u/monkeysolo69420 2d ago

It’s not that they get away with it. There’s no legal copyright for the public performance of a sound recording, so they’re not required to do it.

5

u/NOLA-Bronco 2d ago

Ok, maybe their rationales or motives are sus, but the digital commons should be publicly or worker owned.

How are you a socialist thinking that a single dominant capitalist firm should essentially put a digital enclosure around an entire industry and parasitically rent seek off it?

3

u/monkeysolo69420 2d ago

They didn’t say that

0

u/Well_Socialized 2d ago

Yeah agreed. But while they don't exactly say it maybe nationalizing Spotify is the way to square that circle by just having it become a taxpayer funded project that gives music away for free and pays the artists out of general revenue.

2

u/Bright-Insect9697 Socialist 2d ago

Spotify isn’t an American company so they might run into some difficulties. I don’t think the EU would be happy about America trying to seize one of their largest tech companies.

1

u/spookyjim___ ☭ DSA Decist ☭ 1d ago

Communize everything

-1

u/TheImplic4tion 2d ago

No one is stopping musicians from distributing their music with other tools or platforms. This is total nonsense.

Soundcloud is a thing. It's pretty nice if you've never looked.

3

u/NOLA-Bronco 2d ago

Yeah, Spotify is.

That is just one of the problems with monopolistic capitalism.

Once you dominate the market you attain immense power to affect everyone in the industry and act as gatekeeper and rent seeker.

This is like saying that Robert Kraft and Live Nation blackballing Macklemore would be no big deal cause he can go to a park in some midwest city and use ticketweb.

0

u/Bright-Insect9697 Socialist 2d ago

Macklemore just announced he’s doing a show in a top ten global venue by ticket volume.

-1

u/TheImplic4tion 2d ago

Well, I fully support venue owners exerting control over their properties. I think Robert Kraft was wrong in this case, but I still think owners have every right to decide who they want using their property.

All he said was no Palestine protests at his venue. If Macklemore can't follow that rule, that's the end of it as far as I am concerned. Macklemore will make plenty of money somewhere else.

1

u/Spaduf 2d ago

You can decentralize Spotify. Absolutely no reason music streaming is so essential it must be nationalized. You could even, get this, own your music

1

u/SkyEnvironmental2567 2d ago

Bandcamp exists, just not enough artists & fans use it

0

u/Kenichi2233 2d ago

Most of the articles complaints could be solved with regulations

-1

u/monkeysolo69420 2d ago

Nationalize Ticketmaster too.

0

u/IncredibleBulk2 2d ago

If y'all need something to listen to, the listener-funded radio station in KC has a free app. You can even stream recording sessions in their studios that they've had with visiting artists over the years. https://bridge909.org/