More on the Grammys and Spotify

I think one of the biggest things that keeps us divided as humans is our unwillingness to be wrong, and the inability of people to see different sides of an argument. It's a sign of emotional intelligence to be able to hear other opinions and to leave room for your own opinion to evolve.

I posted this rant yesterday. A friend came at me with proverbial fists raised, telling me this attitude was a horribly entitled one, and that I'm an artist, and essentially I should know better. I respect her opinion wholly, so I was open to what she was saying. We chatted for a bit about it and it turns out, I was wrong about what was said at the Grammys, and my response was to what I thought was said. When I read that the president of the Recording Academy said "Isn't music worth more than a penny?", I took it to be an admonition for all Spotify users, even paid ones. But as my friend pointed out, that's not what they were saying. In fact, they encourage paid subscriptions to music. It's the free streaming (which Spotify offers if you're willing to listen to ads) that they don't like.

I know music is available to me for free if I want it for free, but I don't want it for free, so I pay for Spotify and will gladly buy any music that is not available there. I do not feel entitled to free music. At all. Apparently, even the paid Spotify subscription isn't all that fair to artists. And what my friend suggested was that Common and Neil Portnow were preparing us, the consumers, for an inevitable price hike in services like Spotify, because the current model isn't sustainable. And it's not that it's unsustainable for people like Common. It's unsustainable for lesser-known musicians, who need the money to make a living, not to buy a 4000 square foot house in Beverly Hills. And yes, to me, making music is as important a job as any, and it should be a way for talented musicians to make a living.

It's hard for me to see a room full of millionaires applauding the idea that musicians don't make enough money. But I also understand that there is no better place to say it, because the reach is wide. I forget that people still steal media (what is this, the early aughts?!), but TONS of people do it. And again, I am against this. Music, films, television - these are all products, and you have to pay for products.

For the record (MUSIC PUN), I'd happily pay more money for Spotify. And I will always buy music I want that is unavailable on Spotify, and I will even buy stuff on vinyl if I like it enough. I watch stuff on YouTube that I can't find anywhere else - mostly live performances.

Not that I have a huge readership to deal with here, but I apologize if my post was perceived differently than I intended. Are we cool now?