When music streaming presented itself as a convenient alternative to purchasing music at the end of the 2000’s, it was assumed that the questionable finances would work themselves out in a few years through inconvenient growing pains; but, over a decade later, the business model that works only for popular artists has made independent musicianship a seemingly masochistic endeavor.
Neil Young and Joni Mitchell's withdrawal from Spotify at the beginning of 2021 opened a discussion concerning the service’s ethics, and independent musicians are hopeful it may expand to include the mistreatment of artists across all platforms. On February 2nd, WMUA News Editor Owen Embury sat down with Phil Elverum of the Microphones and Mount Eerie to discuss the ways the musical landscape has changed over the last two decades.
This episode was produced and edited by Owen Embury.
