Music Streaming and Ethics

When it comes to the topic of streaming music, I do agree that it is unfair that artists do not get paid as much as they would if all of their listeners paid for their record or single on iTunes. In the documentary about Napster called Downloaded released in 2013, various artists comment on the topic of downloading music without paying for it, some expressing their support for it, but most undermining the act. When Apple first launched its music streaming service called Apple Music in 2015, granting a three month free trial to listeners during which the artists would not be paid, pop sensation Taylor Swift spoke out in strong opposition, expressing her disappointment in the company and discouraging fans from using the service.

In other words, it is clear that up until just a few years ago, the majority of musical artists were not fond of music streaming services for its unethical nature.

However, in 2017, streaming music seems to the be the norm for both listeners and artists. In fact, after Apple responded to Taylor Swift's letter and decided to pay artists for those three months, Swift expressed her gratitude and even featured in an advertisement for the service that went viral: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK_zwl-lnmc

Although these streaming services still pay artists relatively the same amount as before, nowadays, there does not seem to be any strong opposition from neither artists nor listeners against its unethicality. Instead, artists seem to now be trying to adjust to these changes and doing the best with what they have (i.e. Swift supporting Apple Music). For this reason, though the points expressed in Richmond's article are true, I believe that they are a bit outdated considering the fact that it pushes music listeners to go back to purchasing albums and records which will, speaking realistically, not happen. So, instead of reverting to the past, I believe that we should now seek new ways to support artists through these streaming services such as by promoting artists through the apps or advertising the services so more listeners pay for subscriptions.



http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/01/media/taylor-swift-apple/

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-anxious-ease-of-apple-music