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Did you know that making content – in this case music – is pretty much free? Going to the studio is basically free, buying any gear or software is basically free, mixing and mastering is basically free, it’s all cheap as hell! Who knew! Or at least that’s what Spotify CE Daniel Ek thinks.
In a single tweet, Ek shared that he believes the cost of “creating content” is “close to zero” these days. Which is wrong on a few levels, first and foremost being that music (podcasts, videos, etc.) shouldn’t be viewed as “content.” It’s something people actually worked on. Second, making DIY music can be cheaper depending on how you go about it, but saying the cost is close to zero is insanely out of touch – doubly so for a guy who runs a platform that makes its money by essentially asking the majority of its artists to work for close to free, if not free.
The rest of the tweet is just “smart guy on the Internet” words strung into sentences.
“Today, with the cost of creating content being close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content,” said Ek. “This has sparked my curiosity about the concept of long shelf life versus short shelf life. While much of what we see and hear quickly becomes obsolete, there are timeless ideas or even pieces of music that can remain relevant for decades or even centuries.
“For example, we’re witnessing a resurgence of Stoicism, with many of Marcus Aurelius’s insights still resonating thousands of years later. This makes me wonder: what are the most unintuitive, yet enduring ideas that aren’t frequently discussed today but might have a long shelf life? Also, what are we creating now that will still be valued and discussed hundreds or thousands of years from today?”
It’s also a little rich for Ek to talking about how cheap things are considering Spotify is currently under fire for killing Car Thing with no refunds. And y’know, this is also the guy who laid off 17% of Spotify’s staff right before Christmas.
Making music doesn’t cost “close to zero.” Bands are out there struggling to stay afloat monetarily amidst Spotify bending everyone over with its abysmal royalties, merch cuts annihilating small band’s bottom lines, and the cost of running any semblance of a business through the roof. C’mon dude, at least do a slightly better job hiding how massively out of touch you are with the average person.
It’s also not about sharing an “incredible amount of content.” That only works for the platforms who make their business hosting it. The musicians, videographers, photographers, podcast hosts, etc. – they’re all putting hours, days, weeks, months, years into “creating content” that just gets immediately drown in a sea of an “incredible amount of content.”
Though really, you all know why this tweet exists – justification of how Spotify operates.
