I’m pleased that The State News and Anthony Herta are willing to have an open, honest dialogue about an issue that desperately needs to be talked about. The debate surrounding streaming music is an incredibly important one that we should be focusing on.
Unfortunately, however, I vehemently disagree with nearly every point Herta made in last week’s article. The landscape of the music industry is rapidly evolving thanks to technology, and Taylor Swift’s decision to pull her music from Spotify only does a disservice to herself and to her fans.
In high school, I pirated more music than most people I knew. I didn’t see the point in paying for music when I could just get it for free. I attended concerts, bought artist’s merchandise and bought the physical version of an album if it really struck a proverbial chord with me. But a vast majority of music on my iPod had been pirated.
Fast forward a few years to the day when I couldn’t remember the last time I pirated something. I discovered Spotify and five minutes into my free trial of the premium version, I realized that I couldn’t afford not to have the service.
For just $10 a month, I had unlimited music at my fingertips and when they slashed the price in half for students, I was overjoyed. I still attend shows and buy merchandise, but in today’s climate, the music itself only serves as an indicator of whether or not I should support the artist. Music became a service instead of a good.
The issue at hand isn’t “purchasing vs. streaming,” but “purchasing vs. piracy.” Say what you will about the royalties Spotify pays, the decreased sales or the morphed economics of music; all of these current paradigms are better than they would be under total piracy. Spotify (and Netflix, if you change the form of the media) made me happy to pay for something I used to get for free.
As a songwriter and recording artist myself, I want people to have easy (albeit free) access to my songs, like them and come out to a show.
I’d rather this happened in place of someone not getting a chance to listen to me at all because they didn’t want to risk paying for something they wouldn’t like. You can’t beat the pirates with legal threats and misinformed op-eds; you have to provide a better service.
Cultural attitudes regarding music have changed, and we need to deal with that. Just as video killed the radio star, piracy has killed the album sale, and — as The Buggles made clear — “We can’t rewind. We’ve gone too far.”
Additionally, I took issue with Herta’s assertion that admitting he bought the physical version of “1989” might make him “lose [his] man card.” I am willing to shout unabashedly from the rooftops that I also own the Target deluxe edition of “1989,” and confess that it might just be the best thing that’s ever been mine.
Suggesting that someone is less masculine for listening to an album, artist or genre of music propagates gender stereotypes that we should have left behind a long time ago. Like the things you like, gender be damned.
Let’s face the fact that the economics of music are different, and that we need to adjust to that or be left behind. All Miss Swift did by removing her catalog is lose potential listeners. As much as it pains me to say it, she’s on the wrong side of this debate. Taylor, there’s a blank space on my Spotify where your name should be.
Tyler Silvestri is a political theory and constitutional democracy sophomore.
