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I don't think Nilay was talking about digital copies. The abundance of music on the internet has hurt artists like Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift's album wouldn't e

I don't think Nilay was talking about digital copies. The abundance of music on the internet has hurt artists like Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift's album wouldn't even be in the top 10 sales of 80's albums. It looks even worse if you consider the US had 100 million less people than now (nearly a third less).

villasv 6y ago
Yes, and considering Ben's past writing on Stratechery, this is also a constant argument of his. The Internet is abundant of alternative-but-same-quality content, not just copies of a single original source.
majormajor 6y ago
It does read like that, but it's hurt the stars far less than the second-level folks. While (slightly) helping the long tail. The abundance of meh on the internet makes it harder to charge for mid-level stuff that you used to be able to make a living off of, but the money still finds the trancedental stuff.
sumtechguy 6y ago
Can not remember where I heard this theory but it goes something like this. As more music is created the value of existing music goes down. Basically the idea is adding 1 more song to the pool of millions of others has little value no mater how good/bad that particular song is. As lets say it is the most amazing song ever. I still have a library of millions of other songs to pick from. It is an interesting economic theory. The other problem for music is 4 fold. 1) many people use 'radio' basically spotify or some streaming service like it. 2) Most people buy songs not albums 3) many times people 'age out'. 4) I can choose from a catalog that is decades old all of the previous years of top 100s and get something good to listen to. Now there are exceptions where there are collectors in that they must buy everything. But most people are not collectors they are renters or listeners. Many people just want that one song they like and maybe a couple of others. So you can not make 10-15 off them, you make maybe 1-2 dollars, and depending on your contract much less. Also people 'age out'. For example most of the artists I like most are 'done'. They have either disbanded or just not making anything new and going on concert sales. I also have little interest in newer stuff (because I no longer have the inclination or time to devote to it that I used to). Sure I buy a bit here and there or listen to something from streaming but nothing like what I used to do and own hundreds of CDs.
rchaud 6y ago
Taylor Swift will have her music reviewed and cultural impact discussed on NYTimes, LA Times, and numerous major publications that do not ordinarily review music. Increased supply of music via Bandcamp/Spotify/Soundcloud has almost no impact on artists that already dominate the charts. They can simply pay Spotify to blanket their app with ads for their new music. Spotify took some flack for their OTT promotion of Drake's 2018 album [0], but long term, Drake and the other 'market leaders' came out on top. Some small band hit languishing in the middle of a 100-song playlist is never going to be able to win against that. [0] https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/03/spotify-users-push-back-at-the-over-the-top-drake-promotion/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/03/spotify-users-push-back-at...

villasv 6y ago

Yes, and considering Ben's past writing on Stratechery, this is also a constant argument of his. The Internet is abundant of alternative-but-same-quality content, not just copies of a single original source.

majormajor 6y ago

It does read like that, but it's hurt the stars far less than the second-level folks. While (slightly) helping the long tail. The abundance of meh on the internet makes it harder to charge for mid-level stuff that you used to be able to make a living off of, but the money still finds the trancedental stuff.

sumtechguy 6y ago

Can not remember where I heard this theory but it goes something like this. As more music is created the value of existing music goes down. Basically the idea is adding 1 more song to the pool of millions of others has little value no mater how good/bad that particular song is. As lets say it is the most amazing song ever. I still have a library of millions of other songs to pick from. It is an interesting economic theory. The other problem for music is 4 fold. 1) many people use 'radio' basically spotify or some streaming service like it. 2) Most people buy songs not albums 3) many times people 'age out'. 4) I can choose from a catalog that is decades old all of the previous years of top 100s and get something good to listen to. Now there are exceptions where there are collectors in that they must buy everything. But most people are not collectors they are renters or listeners. Many people just want that one song they like and maybe a couple of others. So you can not make 10-15 off them, you make maybe 1-2 dollars, and depending on your contract much less. Also people 'age out'. For example most of the artists I like most are 'done'. They have either disbanded or just not making anything new and going on concert sales. I also have little interest in newer stuff (because I no longer have the inclination or time to devote to it that I used to). Sure I buy a bit here and there or listen to something from streaming but nothing like what I used to do and own hundreds of CDs.

rchaud 6y ago

Taylor Swift will have her music reviewed and cultural impact discussed on NYTimes, LA Times, and numerous major publications that do not ordinarily review music. Increased supply of music via Bandcamp/Spotify/Soundcloud has almost no impact on artists that already dominate the charts. They can simply pay Spotify to blanket their app with ads for their new music. Spotify took some flack for their OTT promotion of Drake's 2018 album [0], but long term, Drake and the other 'market leaders' came out on top. Some small band hit languishing in the middle of a 100-song playlist is never going to be able to win against that. [0] https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/03/spotify-users-push-back-at-the-over-the-top-drake-promotion/ https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/03/spotify-users-push-back-at...