This is less about bands and more about startups building listening platforms. The article is basically saying that data about what people are listening to has

This is less about bands and more about startups building listening platforms. The article is basically saying that data about what people are listening to has almost no value past the present moment. There are already too many places to get that data and it’s basically already stale by the time you aggregate it. Even with “indie” artists (many of whom are ironically mega-millionaires in their own right), there’s a workflow aspect to the promotion side of things. You can do it yourself, but there’s no money in streaming (artists in 2021 are influencers first and foremost who look at streaming as a way to acquire new listeners) so you gotta go through concert promoters, which usually means means hiring a manager to rep you. The money is in the live shows these days — which is why the pandemic hit musicians so hard. But the fundamental problem is still getting people to listen to your stuff, same as it ever was.