This reminded me of TDWP ZII album art

Album Rating: 3.5

In that half second before I read “album art” I was LIVID

hahaha I am gunna be honest, I have no idea what genre this band/album are, just saw the art and commented.

There are so many hilarious lines on this thing. We'll be pirates!!

Album Rating: 4.2

FYI, the band have put their discography back onto Spotify.

Album Rating: 3.5

I wonder if it was Albini’s leg on the brakes regarding spotify, and now that he’s gone, greediness took over.

@gabba Would not surprise me at all... Let's hope it didn't go like that. I don't use spotify anyway, since I hate it as much as Steve did

Album Rating: 3.5

Same here, spotify leeches on the music industry, it’s bizarre that it hosts bands with punk/anti-capitalist attitude like Shellac.

Album Rating: 4.0

ive heard the plan was to have it all go back up with this new record anyway

"it’s bizarre that it hosts bands with punk/anti-capitalist attitude like Shellac."

Yeah, many such cases. I remember when Napalm Death released scum under Earache which was on its way to becoming a multi-national corporation hah! I mean, sometimes it's hard for the bands. They have to thrive and survive in a market that's been progressively taken by corporations. I don't like to buy CDs from big corps but sometimes it's the only way and it's still better than spotify normally. I think it's been debated on sputnik before but I think the best way to support artists (apart from donations ofc) is merch during tours/shows.

PS: Btw, Encylopedia Metallum (aka The Metal Archives) released a note a few days back stating that they would not accept AI generated bands (https://www.metal-archives.com/news/view/id/296). Kudos to them for that. I was never a fan of some of their strict exclusion filters that made many bands disappear from their archives, but this one I'm all for haha

Album Rating: 2.5

Ah. Yeah I did wonder if it’s what ‘Steve would’ve wanted’ - the timing is always gonna conjure up such questions



Still, I will be taking advantage either way because I value my own selfish need for convenience

Album Rating: 3.5

Spotify is super-convenient from the users’ standpoint, and I agree that many artists just have to give in if they want to facilitate the distribution of their music. From my side, I try to spend as much money as possible on bandcamp fridays to support artists.

Yeah bandcamp fridays are a very good option too. Bandcamp streaming is what I use to get a taste of a particular album.
I never really liked spotify even from a user standpoint tbh, I was never a fan of random songs playlists, algorithms profiling my music drives, or subscription services so... I'm more a full album guy and I guess I'm a fan of lossless quality sources, good headphones, booklets with lyrics... I aim for the complete experience if posible. Music has been my main hobby since a kid and having been an instrument player I grew up with high standards. Don't take me wrong, I still can enjoy music in a car, just not as much as the other way.

Is there really an alternative viable option to spotify currently? Pre-spotify, the entire industry was moving to P2P sharing which wasn't supporting the artists either. Bandcamp is great.. aside from the fact that I can't 'listen to whatever I want'. Now that we have had that convenience we can't exactly move away from it. I would be all for Spotify paying the artists more, but that comes at a cost to the consumer. I am personally okay with paying significantly more per month for spotify or any streaming platform for that matter.

Buy band merch on their tours [2]

Album Rating: 2.5

Yeah, agreed with Feather



do I think it’s right what the artists get paid? Nope



Am I gonna relinquish my own convenience when a cheap and convenient option is now available? Again, no. I’ve lived through an era of buying all my music in physical form. I can’t do that now. Well I could, but it would severely limit my scope and I don’t actually want to, lol



There should be a happier medium but not sure what that is, currently

Album Rating: 4.0

piracy was worse for the labels than it was for artists honestly because bands were still pocketing more from cd sales in that age than they do from spotify now. plus it served as a way for people to sample something theyd later buy. the model has now shifted to streaming is great for the labels and even worse for the artists. and people wont even budge at the idea of paying more for spotify for artists to earn a bit more even tho the price of everything else has gone up. we just cheapened tf out of music



i am tryna work in the industry in some capacity so seeing even a lot of people that love music are so resilient of the idea of paying more for it kinda makes me want to hop into a volcano lol

Album Rating: 2.5

I’d definitely pay more for streaming. It’s all about balance. I’m also not gonna pay outright for stuff (either physical or the more premium priced download options… I would never for digital tbh) that’s just “alright” or won’t return to often. For things you love and want to support? Absolutely

Album Rating: 4.0

Tidal pays the highest amount to artists at $0.013 a stream vs Spotify which is $0.005

Album Rating: 4.0

"i'm also not gonna pay outright for stuff that's just alright or won't return to often"



in a way this is kinda the beauty of piracy, since completely for free you could decide if something was worth buying. since spotify is already something people pay for, the average consumer is less likely to take that extra mile nowadays to buy the records they want



you're on the money about balance as a return entirely to the old model is both not realistic and practical for anyone. i think itd be best if people sorta viewed streaming as advertising for something theyd later want to buy but the funnel just doesnt seem to do the funneling that much

Album Rating: 2.5

Ah, think what I mean is ideally you pay for streaming for the accessibility etc. and the artists get a pittance, but not nothing. Then, you try and support the artists you love through physical copies / gigs / merch or whatever



There’s no reason to pirate unless you cannot afford the subscriptions (which to be honest are cheap af hence the appeal)… but yeah if more artists refused to be on streaming services this would change things