In 2020 I took my music off Spotify, Apple Music and the other major streaming services in a moment of angry retaliation. Triggered by the pathetic response of Spotify to all the artists who suddenly found themselves struggling, I relinquished the ~$100 AUD distribution fee I had paid for each of my previous albums and removed them from all services except for Bandcamp.

If you are not a musician you may be surprised to hear that artists must pay a fee to distribute their music to the major streaming platforms, and can't simply upload directly. It is one of the many examples of the money we are required to spend on creating, distributing and promoting our music, and for most smaller artists this money will never be recouped through the income streams available to us.

Now, as I prepare to release my third album Enamel, I have found myself torn between standing by that boycott, and wanting to give my music the best chance of being heard by people who will connect with it and want to engage with more of what I do outside of streaming platforms.

“Then, when musicians needed support the most during the pandemic, the best Spotify could offer was a donate feature - a button that let artists ask for money from fans who are already paying a monthly premium to use the service.”

I am fully aware that you can make money from streaming, and many artists do. My anger last year was not directed so much toward the paltry rate of pay-per-stream. Instead I was angry that streaming services would be nothing without the millions of artists who populate their databases with their work, yet the platforms care so little for the creators they rely on.

These artists, who have heavily invested their time and money into their projects, direct fans straight to the streaming services and are rather meagrely rewarded by the platforms in return for this free publicity. Then, when musicians needed support the most during the pandemic, the best Spotify could offer was a donate feature - a button that let artists ask for money from fans who are already paying a monthly premium to use the service. Around the same time Spotify signed an exclusive deal with podcaster Joe Rogan, reportedly worth $100 million USD. It is clear the company have money to spend, just not on the millions of small artists who make their platform so diverse and are now struggling to make a living through the Covid pandemic.

Spotify's response was in direct contrast to Bandcamp's incredibly generous Bandcamp Fridays, where on the first Friday of the month the platform would waive their cut of fees so that more money could be directed straight to the artists.

Monetary gain aside, I also know that I am currently missing out on the benefits that would come from making my work available to a wider audience. My music is highly niche (to be honest, on music-career-hating days it can feel like I'm the only fan...). I write for myself and my own tastes, and I am definitely not sitting on any viral hits. My music will never find its way onto a hugely influential Spotify playlist, but I could absolutely use the support of smaller targeted playlists.

But then I also wonder if my music will do just fine existing solely on Bandcamp. I don't make music that soundtracks a work day. It doesn't have a groove to work out to, nor does it belong on a calm piano playlist for study. I take extreme care in my lyric writing, composing and arranging, and I desire an audience who will take the same care in listening. An audience who will sit down and listen to an album from start to end, and be changed somehow when they emerge out the other side. This is a lofty and an old fashioned view, but I am a millennial, and that is how I grew up consuming music. Loving an album to death, until the tape was worn out and wobbly sounding, or CD covers splintering from being carried around for weeks alongside my Discman or to and from my car.

“For the independent musicians who do have a choice, in the end they don’t really have choice. You are either on streaming services or you don’t exist as an artist in today’s world.”

And so I am torn. I haven't yet found any other writing by musicians who have had success releasing their music exclusively on Bandcamp. The most vocal critics of streaming can still be found on the major streaming platforms, although their website may direct users to Bandcamp or their own online store. Many of these musicians will be tied to label contracts and have no choice. For the independent musicians who do have a choice, in the end they don't really have choice. You are either on streaming services or you don't exist as an artist in today's world.

I am such a small voice in this game, and my boycott is a drop in the ocean that is only really hurting my own career. Ultimately, it will make no difference to the musical ecosystem that continues to march forward without me. If you are reading this article months after it was written perhaps I will have given in and paid the distribution fees all over again to put my music back into the streaming game. I hope you won’t judge me, the same way I don't judge those artists who have been vocal in the past about their contempt of streaming while finding it impossible to forge a career without it. We are simply doing what we have to do, when there is no other choice.

If you would like to support my work you can purchase my music on Bandcamp, links are below.