In Strict Tempo, vol. 71: Bad Mood Machine
I finally got my hands on a copy of Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine - the takedown of Spotify that’s had everyone talking since a section of it was published online late last year.
If you’ve been remotely interested in music or the industry over the past few years you’ll almost have certainly come across the usual suspects parroting the “Spotify is bad” narrative, and most of them are using the publication of this book to reinforce that, but for me it’s a lot more nuanced than that.
It’s an interesting book for sure, although most of what’s presented in the book has been known for years - Discovery Mode, “Fake” artists and algorithmic playlists won’t be news to anyone who’s spent any time in or around music industry people since 2015 or so.
My initial take on it is that it’s a little bit confused - it’s trying to make the point that Spotify is bad (whilst all but ignoring all the other streaming platforms) because… well, it’s not quite sure. It’s bad because it doesn’t pay artists enough, yet then has multiple case studies of little-known artists who’ve had great financial success from Spotify. It’s bad because Discovery Mode and Marquee/Showcase adverts exist, even though no-one is forced to use them. It’s bad because it hasn’t made its commercial contracts with the major labels public, but show me a business who does publish this sensitive information.
At times it feels like the author is advocating for some sort of musical communism - for Spotify to give every artist who’s ever uploaded anything to the platform thirty grand a year for the rest of their lives, but it never really makes the important distinction between working and “hobby” musicians. Not everyone who makes music will make a career out of it (or even want to), similar to how the tens of thousands of people who play recreational football on weeknights or a Sunday morning will never earn a contract with a professional club. Even those who are fortunate and talented enough to become professional footballers at League One or Two level will never earn in a year what Mo Salah earns in a week, much in the same way the majority of talented and hard-working musicians will never earn as much as Ed Sheeran or Taylor Swift. Fair? Probably not, but what’s the alternative?
There’s a whole chapter devoted to Spotify for Artists and how the level of data it provides backs up the argument that Spotify only sees everything as granular data points, ignoring the argument that a lot of the data provided is genuinely useful to artists and labels. Okay some of it is nonsense yeah, but being able to see which cities you have a fanbase in is important to most artists I’ve spoken to.
I didn’t want this article to be a criticism of the book, as it really is interesting in places. The revelation that Spotify group artists based on revenue into Tiers (probably as close as you’re going to get to understanding the “algorithm”) is given a couple of paragraphs at the end of a chapter, when it could have been investigated in more detail (what does being in a certain tier mean for your release?) the internal pushes for Perfect Fit Content (aka library music) to be used, the mechanics of getting featured on one of Spotify’s billboards in Times Square, and the effect on streams something like that has (it’ll come as no surprise that it’s minimal).
There’s the saddening reality of an artist who Spotify used as a case study for making a career out of playlisting who was reduced to begging Daniel Ek on Twitter for editorial placements a few years later.
But then it reverts back to the tired old arguments. The comparison with Discovery mode to Payola (different things entirely), the call for a penny-per-stream royalty rate (that will make fuck all difference to anyone), Daniel Ek’s investments in weapons manufacturers (alright, this one is actually shitty)- all valid reasons to dislike it to different degrees, but things that have been gone over a million times before. Spotify isn’t the only way artists can make money. It’s one of ten or more streaming platforms, there’s still download sites around, there’s obviously Bandcamp too. Physical income, Live (although fraught with it’s own problems which are nothing to do with Spotify), Merchandise, Publishing, Neighbouring Rights, Sync and composing for Film, TV and adverts… there’s myriad ways to make money from music, and they can all add up into useful income… but the usual online names always seem to just focus on Spotify as the cause of all the industry’s ills.
There’s a good book in here for sure, but unfortunately the reality is that most people just don’t care that much about music, and care even less about musicians. Most people want to pay their ten pounds per month and be spoon-fed music they like. That’s not Spotify’s fault, it’s merely reacting to a gap in the market. If Spotify goes then that’s not going to send everyone to Rough Trade or Bandcamp with handfuls of cash, they’ll likely migrate to YouTube, or begin to pirate stuff again. Worst case scenario, they just won’t bother with music in the same way they used to.
I’ve said before I often come across as a Spotify apologist when that’s not really the case. I am a realist when it comes to this sort of stuff though, and I’ve seen both sides of the coin. I’ve had tracks come out of nowhere and achieve hundreds of millions of streams, and I’ve pitched excellent tunes with great stories that have just been ignored.
In Pelly’s conclusion she goes on to mention a number of alternatives, namely two schemes that exist in France and Ireland, paying artists a monthly stipend to ensure they can live comfortably. The French scheme extends to musicians who’ve performed publicly more than 500 times in three years - which goes some way to quantifying just what counts as an active, or professional musician. Of course lots of musicians won’t perform publicly at all, but it’s a start to open the conversation with. The thing is, these are things that need to happen at Government level - our ire should be directed there instead of at Spotify surely, especially when they’re not the only company doing this, and especially as Spotify isn’t the only way musicians can earn money.
In the news a couple of weeks ago Ed Sheeran and Elton John were calling on the UK Government to put £250 million into musical education for schoolchildren. I’d argue that if they felt so strongly about it why don’t they? The arts have always had patrons, so perhaps Ed & Elton should look at funding a form of UBI for less fortunate musicians instead of buying bouquets of fresh flowers each day or wasting money on trying to keep Ipswich Town from getting relegated? That’s a bigger conversation.
It’s clear the author means well - the book is well researched with a number of interesting insights but I feel unsatisfied with it overall. I’m not sure I really disagree with a lot of what she’s saying, I’d love to see my favourite artists be able to devote their time to their art instead of having to work other jobs, but there’s a need to be realistic. Pelly is part of the DIY music scene, and some DIY scenes are in rude health - local artists working locally to promote shows and help each other out. In my interview with Sandwell District two weeks ago Regis said that “being local is great”. Perhaps that’s what we need, more local scenes, supplemented by things like Bandcamp which is probably as close to what we’re going to get as an answer to all this right now (and one the book barely mentions). But if one or two of those local, DIY acts get national or worldwide success via a streaming platform then that can only be a good thing right?
New Stereolab! New Pulp!
A short but very, very sweet playlist of new tunes this week. Remember it’s Record Store Day this weekend too, if you’re in the market to spend twelve quid on a 7” of Dead or Alive’s You Spin Me Right Round…
Stereolab - Aerial Troubles [Warp]
There’s a new Stereolab album coming! Their first in fifteen years! Here’s the first single! Listen to it!
Pulp - Spike Island [Rough Trade]
There’s a new Pulp album coming! Their first in twenty-four years! Here’s the first single! Listen to it!
Liftin’ Spirits & DJ Persuasion - Tuffness Direct [Lifted Spirits]
There’s a new… nah that’s enough now. The second single from DJ Persuasion & Liftin’ Spirits upcoming album is a furious slice of old-skool influenced jungle from two masters of the game. Ruff & ready, Tuffness Direct does exactly what it says on the tin, straight to your dome.
VA - Disk Musik: A DD Records Compilation [Phantom Limb]
Sometimes something comes along that just opens your eyes, ears and everything in between. DD Records was a Japanese label that released a handful of tapes in the early 1980’s focusing on outsider (some might call it weird) music made by avant-garde, DIY musicians. Revered in Japan the label was barely known outside of the country but now this compilation brings together a collection of tracks from 1985.
Arsene - Jack Shit [Star Creature]
Slept on (by me) at the end of January this year, this one is a proper jackin’ house 7” by way of Chicago. Hard to believe this was made in 2025 and not 1989.
Neutral - Lagliv [Helen Scarsdale Agency]
This came out on cassette a few years back but now sees a vinyl release. Sometimes this kind of stuff sounds better on tape, but it’s good to hear it on the richer format too. I think I’m of the opinion that some of the most interesting music being made right now is coming out of Sweden - I doubt many would disagree.
