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--- spotify [2026/09/15 11:51] – ultracomfy
+++ spotify [2026/09/15 11:57] (current) – ultracomfy
@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 ====== 2. Consolidation of power structures ======
-Another thing about Spotify is that people like its algorithm. We get music recommendations from Spotify, which has a pretty big influence over what kind of music people listen to. Now, I'm an outstanding observer, and I see how much people rely on the algorithm, a program designed and deployed by Spotify, has a lot of power over what people listen to. It makes me think... Isn't it convenient how Spotify is structured in a way to benefit big artists and, with its algorithm, also gets executive control over who the biggest artists are in the first place? Like, it just so happens that Spotify went out of its way to create a monetization "system" that works like an oligarchy and with its recommendation system also has a major, if not overwhelmingly large, say in who becomes an oligarch? And here is a little, dark secret that you may not even want to know - if they control who most people listen to... they also control who will //not// be listened to. So, uh, any bets on who we think is **not** going to get recommended a lot by the algorithm? Because, I think I have the hunch that Spotify will like to use its algorithm to reinforce the rigid and hostile monetization structure.
+Another thing about Spotify is that people like its algorithm. We get music recommendations from Spotify, which has a pretty big influence over what kind of music people listen to. Now, I'm an outstanding observer, and I see how much people rely on the algorithm, a program designed and deployed by Spotify, giving them a lot of power over what people listen to. It makes me think... Isn't it convenient how Spotify is structured in a way to benefit big artists and, with its algorithm, also gets executive control over who the biggest artists are in the first place? Like, it just so happens that Spotify went out of its way to create a monetization "system" that works like an oligarchy and with its recommendation system also has a major, if not overwhelmingly large, say in who becomes an oligarch? And here is a little, dark secret that you may not even want to know - if they control who most people listen to... they also control who will //not// be listened to. So, uh, any bets on who we think is **not** going to get recommended a lot by the algorithm? Because, I think I have the hunch that Spotify will like to use its algorithm to reinforce the rigid and hostile monetization structure.
 Because, ultimately, this isn't so much about the exact names of the oligarchs at the top as it is about keeping the total number of oligarchs low. The goal is closing the door behind yourself so that the top keep earning a lot more than anyone else.
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 To executives, piracy is a variable to consider in business, not a matter of ethics where we are trying to "do the right thing" or "care about the artists" (right, as if they haven't designed a monetization model that goes out of its way to fuck them over). Remember, these are the same kind of people that would prefer people dying and paying for the resulting lawsuits, rather than paying for proper staffing, maintenance and safety checks. You know, unlike executives, people are conceptually actually willing to do the right thing (especially when you make it as convenient as Spotify does). People are willing to pay if companies get the pricing right. That's why Spotify is working, at least a little bit, to reduce piracy.
-Ultimately though, Spotify is another in a long list of companies trying profit at your expense, with the objective "Reduce piracy" being a literal stand-in for "maximize profit margins". Whatever **you** think is good about piracy is **not** what Spotify actually tries to achieve.
+Ultimately though, Spotify is another in a long list of companies trying profit at your expense, with the objective "Reduce piracy" being a literal stand-in for "maximize profit margins". Whatever good **you** think lessening piracy will do is **not** what Spotify is aiming for. You might think less piracy means artists get paid, but that is //not// the case with Spotify, //even// when it demonstrably //does// reduce piracy.
 //If you want, continue reading on [[Spotify (Level 2)]]//