I can't see it working for many artists. As more artists go for high friction distribution, that sheen of exclusivity gets lost and that little hit of endorphin

I can't see it working for many artists. As more artists go for high friction distribution, that sheen of exclusivity gets lost and that little hit of endorphins you got by making a little bit of effort stops happening. Consumers will stay where they have more than enough good music to listen to; there are only so many hours in the day after all and it is a buyers market, even most of the niche ones.