Just because people consume music slop, does not mean that that is a natural demand (given the supply is explicitly artificial, so certainly there’s an economic incentive to generate demand), or something they deserve to consume or have to be given to consume (you shit every day; does not imply you want shit).
Yeah, I suppose, in a closed system that might he true.
But this isnt a closed system.
Bandcamp, for example is rife with wonderful small scale artists. There are local music scenes. There are loads of ways of choosing to stream music.
The thing is that people choose to listen to Spotify despite this. And that is a choice.
We have to be careful when talking about things when we start suggesting that people are not smart enough, or motivated enough to know what they want.
Demand is not generated here, but fulfilled. People just want background music. The properties of that music, and its artistic integrity, isnt a factor in that decision, so it is a demand based upon other properties… Brand recognition, user experience and ubiquity.
Again, I’m not defending this, and it isnt something that appeals to me, but it is easier to understand how these revelations will probably not make much of an impact of spotifys business model.
