[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”Header and Image” _builder_version=”3.22″ background_color=”#1f1f1f” parallax=”on” custom_padding=”|||” transparent_background=”on”][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”Closing” text_orientation=”center” header_fullscreen=”on” header_scroll_down=”on” scroll_down_icon=”%%0%%” scroll_down_icon_color=”#ffffff” scroll_down_icon_size=”32px” background_overlay_color=”rgba(31,31,31,0.25)” subhead_font_color=”#bebebe” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ title_font=”Playfair Display||||” title_text_color=”#ffffff” title_font_size=”72px” title_line_height=”1.3em” content_font=”Montserrat||||” content_text_color=”#bfbfbf” content_font_size=”19px” content_line_height=”1.8em” subhead_font=”Montserrat||||” subhead_text_color=”#bebebe” subhead_line_height=”1.8em” background_color=”rgba(255, 255, 255, 0)” background_image=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/streaming\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/05\/IMG_0059-scaled.jpg” parallax=”on” parallax_method=”on” custom_button_one=”on” button_one_text_size=”15px” button_one_text_color=”#ffffff” button_one_border_width=”2px” button_one_border_color=”#ffffff” button_one_border_radius=”0px” button_one_letter_spacing=”1px” button_one_font=”Montserrat|||on|” button_one_use_icon=”off” custom_button_two=”on” button_two_text_size=”15px” button_two_text_color=”#ffffff” button_two_bg_color=”#c39d63″ button_two_border_width=”2px” button_two_border_color=”#c39d63″ button_two_border_radius=”0px” button_two_letter_spacing=”1px” button_two_font=”Montserrat|||on|” button_two_use_icon=”off” animation_style=”zoom” animation_duration=”1500ms” animation_intensity_zoom=”4%” title_line_height_last_edited=”off|desktop” button_one_border_radius_hover=”0px” button_one_letter_spacing_hover=”1px” button_two_letter_spacing_hover=”1px” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”on” button_one_border_radius__hover=”0px” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”on” button_one_letter_spacing__hover=”1px” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”on” button_two_letter_spacing__hover=”1px” button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off”]<\/p>\n
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Imagining beyond, and implications going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”The Context” _builder_version=”3.22″ background_color=”#ffffff” background_position=”top_left” custom_padding=”100px|0px|0px|0px||” collapsed=”off”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” min_height=”352px” custom_margin=”-52px|auto||auto||” custom_padding=”0px|||||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ text_font=”Montserrat||||” text_text_color=”#939393″ text_font_size=”17px” text_line_height=”1.8em” header_font=”||||” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1103px” custom_margin=”22px|115px|-5px|||” custom_padding=”|||115px||” animation_direction=”top” inline_fonts=”ABeeZee”]<\/p>\n Looking at the deficits of streaming services and the potential ways artists and governments might resist their power, it can be easy to forget about the essential force without which these companies would be powerless: artists making and sharing music for the love of it. Given the unmistakable value collectively conferred to musicians for their creative output, how might we map our way to a relationship with music that is fair, equitable, and authentic?<\/span><\/p>\n Pelly said that thinking through alternatives to the streaming status quo should avoid getting too caught up in coming up with solutions that are fostered solely in response to the problems these services pose. Instead, she argues, a better way forward can be forged by taking a broader view.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI feel like it can sort of limit our imaginations for what’s possible when we’re in this mode of just reacting to like these platform-specific issues,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd really, in order to foster a more fair, interesting and exciting online music world, I think it’ll require much more than just thinking about these platforms, specific fixes, and more sort of big picture. What could we accomplish and build together if we thought about the potential of the internet as a means of creating community around music?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Fauteux points to music streaming algorithms as an avenue for positive change. \u201cAs it stands, a lot of these algorithms are biased towards the kind of more already successful artists that are connected to the big three labels and are doing really well on Spotify,\u201d he said. Fauteux confronted the image Spotify has fashioned for itself as a bastion of democratic success. \u201cThat isn’t really playing out in terms of how streams seem to be accumulated.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He suggested there might be ways to retool algorithms that may create space for local and independent artists. \u201cThere’s much more potential to these services and to digital technologies than we’re experiencing,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Todd Green said an end to the devaluation of musical work may have to come from the artists themselves. \u201cI think artists probably need to collectively organize and make it very clear, \u2018You know, you’re basically using our art for your means to an end.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe most important thing to me is if people are listening to the music, and they’re enjoying it, and they’re getting something out of it. That is cooler to me than any monetary value that comes out of it,\u201d said Judge.<\/span><\/p>\n When asked about whether they would be willing to walk away from Spotify as a way to release their music, collaborator and friend Watson expressed ambivalence. \u201cIt’s hard with art because you as an artist, sometimes you’re just making art and you just want people to hear it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_divider color=”#8300E9″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”RGBA(0,0,0,0)”][\/et_pb_divider][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ text_font=”Montserrat||||” text_text_color=”#939393″ text_font_size=”17px” text_line_height=”1.8em” header_font=”||||” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1103px” custom_margin=”22px|115px|-5px|||” custom_padding=”4px|||115px||” animation_direction=”top” inline_fonts=”ABeeZee”]<\/p>\n The technological and <\/span>marketing developments that brought the music industry to this moment have forced a number of changes to the way it operates<\/span>. Though governmental regulation of music streaming services is on the horizon, the extent to which the gale wind forces of technological change can be controlled may be limited. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It remains to be seen how artists\u2019 collective organizing could provide meaningful resistance <\/span>to where<\/span> the economics of music is trending. The way consumers relate to and value music may also bear some influence on how listening to music translates into a living income for <\/span>artists<\/span>. But in the wake of these debated answers to ongoing questions, musicians may have to renegotiate their expectations, and redefine where they derive their satisfaction. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/streaming\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/32\/2021\/05\/IMG_4988.png” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-16px|||||”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-18px|auto||auto||” custom_padding=”23px|||||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ text_font=”Montserrat||||” text_text_color=”#939393″ text_font_size=”17px” text_line_height=”1.8em” header_font=”||||” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1103px” custom_margin=”1px|115px|-5px|||” custom_padding=”|||115px||” animation_direction=”top” inline_fonts=”ABeeZee”]<\/p>\n Celina Kay is the person behind the artist future star, a bedroom pop solo project that emerged from her involvement in the DIY music scene in Vancouver. \u201cI’ve sort of learned this is kind of my way of writing music, expressing myself, engaging with music in a way that is healthy for me, and is fun.\u201d Her last name has been omitted to preserve her anonymity and protect her professional status.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Vancouver, B.C. artist began playing in bands when she was 17 years old.<\/span> Though she has been making music under the moniker for about half a decade, making a living from her music was never Kay\u2019s goal. \u201cI always had the opposite of that, which is like I consciously really never wanted to make music my full time job,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Kay\u2019s parents both made music their profession: both parents were music teachers, her dad worked in a music store for many years, and the two would perform live, picking up gigs here and there. For a time, her dad had a record label deal and would spend a lot of time on the road touring. \u201cGrowing up, I never wanted to do that, because it seemed like they always seem so stressed out about money,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd so it was just not something that was desirable to <\/span>me.\u201d For Kay, stability was always something she wanted out of a career. \u201cWhich, [being a] musician doesn’t offer you unless you get real lucky.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI have very strong ideas about \u2018making it.\u2019 I don’t ever want to pursue making it in a way that I have to rely on it. That scares me a lot. And it also I feel like it affects your art. I don’t want to be creating art that’s like pablum. That’s boring.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Kay draws a line from the way consuming music has changed, to the lived experiences and struggles of music artists today. \u201cWhat has resulted is that no musician gets paid for anything because it’s valued so little,\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe way I see Spotify is like a necessary evil,\u201d said Kay. \u201cBut it’s also convenient for listeners, I listen to Spotify all the time. I love it when local bands that I listen to are on Spotify, because then I can listen to them, and it\u2019s convenient. But I’m not just going to listen to them on Spotify, and think that’s going to be enough. It’s not supporting them in any way. That’s just for me. It’s like a nice bonus for me. But at the same time, like, I go buy records that I like, especially local bands.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Kay said universal basic income would be a positive step toward assisting musicians in Canada. \u201cI feel like that would be incredible,\u201d she said. \u201cIt’s more like really big fundamental things have to change in our society.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ text_font=”Montserrat||||” text_text_color=”#939393″ text_font_size=”17px” text_line_height=”1.8em” header_font=”||||” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” max_width=”1103px” custom_margin=”1px|115px|-5px|||” custom_padding=”|||115px||” animation_direction=”top” inline_fonts=”ABeeZee”]<\/p>\n When I think about that younger teenage version of me who misses the democratic distribution of the early-to-mid 2000s music blog culture, I am reminded of the fact that every medium for sharing and selling music opens up and forecloses possibilities in unique ways. <\/span><\/p>\n Fifteen years from now, people who listened to music streaming services will probably look back with nostalgia at how they used to use a playlist and had control over that. It is hard to say what will supersede this current mode of distributing music. <\/span><\/p>\n Amid this uncertainty, I see that the wisdom of taking a long view\u2014of where we have been, where we are and where we are going\u2014can provide valuable clues for understanding how we might get where we want to be.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Just as the music in my precious MP3 library helped me map my way to myself fifteen years ago, perhaps these reflections can help us figure out how we want to envision a way of listening, sharing and paying for music that grants us the space in which our full humanity can exist, be nurtured and respected. <\/span><\/p>\n If we so choose, we could cultivate support for the aspects of music that impart some of the most profound, transformative and visceral experiences in our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Jeff Vidler” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”-22px|||||” custom_padding=”8px|||||”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/streaming\/regulating-music-streaming” button_text=”Regulating Music Streaming” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_button=”on” button_icon=”%%19%%” button_icon_placement=”left”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_button button_url=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/mrp\/streaming\/authors-note” button_text=”Author’s Note” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_margin=”|||125px||” custom_padding=”|||12px||”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Imagining beyond, and implications going forward. Looking at the deficits of streaming services and the potential ways artists and governments might resist their power, it can be easy to forget about the essential force without which these companies would be powerless: artists making and sharing music for the love of it. Given the unmistakable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-307","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
What could we accomplish and build together if we thought about the potential of the internet as a means of creating community around music?\u201d<\/strong> – Liz Pelly<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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\u201cThere’s much more potential to these services and to digital technologies than we’re experiencing\u201d<\/strong> – Brian Fauteux<\/span><\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Celina Kay of future star said she never wanted to tie her livelihood to making music. Photo by Lauren Ray.<\/span><\/h6>\n