Saw earlier today someone talking about how the only way to return profit back to music is for the consumer to accept that paying $15 for nearly all music ever released.. is bad for the art of music and the musician. The problem is..the average consumer is not gonna give af and be willing to purchase every single album. We’re too deep into streaming services at this point. So walk with me here for a second.

Imagine for a second that your favorite release came out on Friday, and you could listen to it on “opening weekend” on your streaming service. Come Monday, however, it would be pulled from the service and only be available to purchase. You have a few days to enjoy and decide if you really like it. Then, like back in the iTunes days, you can purchase it by either full album or individual track. After some period of time predetermined by the artist or label, the release becomes free with your streaming subscription, and anyone can stream them at will just like now. The artist then continues to collect royalties off of their streams from the streaming service, same as with the current setup.

Users can upload DJ mixes, mashups, and other alterations (sped/pitched up, chopped and screwed, etc) for purchase. Anyone who wants the tracks pays the price of whatever song(s) it contains, as well as a cut predetermined by the uploader. So let’s say it’s a mashup of a Migos song and a Christmas carol. Each of those tracks is $0.99 and the DJ wants his own $0.99 cut. The total cost of the track for the listener is $2.97. These tracks get uploaded to the users own page, as well as some form of “Songs Containing This Artist’s Work” on the official artist page (sorted by popularity).

Everyone has a social media-esque profile. They can repost new releases, highlight favorite lyrics, and share playlists. They can request submissions for their playlists and other users can share songs they think would fit, with the owner of the playlist able to either accept or reject the submission. On this profile, you can see your friends top artists by purchases and by streams. A true superfan should be in the top 5% of listeners and have their favs discography 100% purchased, right? This incentivizes purchases even after the releases hit streaming, and encourages fan/artist engagement on the platform.

Just some random thoughts I had while driving to work. Would you be down for a change like this? Is it necessary? Where would it go wrong?

tl;dr
Music releases should be free with a streaming subscription for the first few days, only available for purchase for maybe a 6 month period after that, and then hit streaming for free again.

Honestly no. I know this site has its gripes with streaming and although I agree with some takes I find it extremely beneficial to have access to virtually anything I want to listen to at my fingertips at a fixed cost

yea this wouldnt work but i appreciate the thought

Agree. OP your thoughts are definitely in the right place and I see what you’re saying

I think music should just drop and thats it

A certain group of people..won't say what group...would never allow this

The way things are set up rn are to the benefit of the consumer, but unfortunately it’s not working for the musicians

It will never be viable for the musicians whose work is being consumed. If they aren’t given their fair share, then it’s a bad model

Crazy how times change. I remember going to the CD store after school and buying physical albums. The covers, different photos, words from the artist to fans, the making of behind the scenes second disc, little booklet with lyrics for each song etc.. crazy to think that an entire few generations now don’t know s*** about what I just said lol

isn’t this the exact opposite of how movie releases work

Pretty cool idea where certain artists could opt in. Would maintain the exclusively of the music that was lost when streaming was introduced. I just think the convenience of streaming spoiled listeners they're not gonna accept anything less than everything at their fingertips.

Idk man. I don’t know how you can see the climate of the world and think that a model change would not ultimately just result to the mean of maximizing profits and hurting consumers. Unfortunately nothing is sacred anymore and everything is built on the back of profit

Should apples taste like oranges too ?

Yeah but not in that way.

Albums should come out in physical only first then it comes on streaming after some time.

Some smaller artists are already doing this format

Are consumers really benefitting from streaming?

Sure, we have access to all the music we could ever dream of. But at what cost?

Music has been devalued more than any other medium over the past decade, and streaming is directly to blame

Have you ever had a Grapple? It’s an apple that tastes like a grape

I think the answer to the streaming problem has to be just as convenient, or more convenient or maybe slightly more inconvenient for it to be a viable solution

Fapple

In the sense that they’d be free at release, yes. But I think it’s necessary to allow people to still hear all the hottest releases (bc they’ve become so accustomed to that luxury) and then incentivize a purchase.

I more mean that there’s a few months where the only way you can watch/listen to something is to purchase it, and then it hits streaming free with your subscription.

I can’t speak for anyone else but for me. I have found a lot of great music and it has increased my love and joy for music tremendously. I realize I am probably an outlier, but selfishly that’s good enough for me. Not really my problem to deal with reshaping the industry you know?

OP the issue is that it is far more easy to make music than a movie, and thus music releases are FAR more prolific than movies

There is a pretty small and inelastic supply of movies who’s releases can be carefully moderated

Music is just everywhere all the time

There was a whole world surrounding albums that just demanded your attention when you bought it. It's no wonder older generations hold more sentimental value to their favorite albums lmao

Another streaming hate boner thread

There's no putting the toothpaste back in the tube. Tbh every major label artist who was selling albums should've unionized the second streaming was theorized but it's every man for themselves so now we are here