Let’s Get Physical!

A guest post from George this week. I hope you enjoy.

Mary x 

I blame Joe Rogan.

Let me be clear that I have no beef with the world’s biggest podcaster. I’m told he could kick me quite hard if it ever came down to it. But the news this week that he’s receiving another $250 million from Spotify for a non-exclusive deal on his podcast left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

That one man should receive so much from a company that pays artists so little ($0.003 per stream on average) might have finally broken me. Of course, as in any industry, there will always be big fish who receive big payouts, but the news made me consider my relationship with the platform, and how it’s changed the way I consume, and enjoy music.

I’ve been an enthusiastic user of Spotify for many years. I considered the ability to have instant access to the most obscure tracks from all over the world a great blessing, one that has broadened my tastes and allowed me to experience so much more than I ever did before. 

But I’ve noticed elements of the app’s design seem to actively counter any desire to seek out something new. The ‘On Repeat’ section in particular is my worst enemy, tempting me back to whatever’s in heavy rotation at the moment, rather than looking for anything new.

Algorithmic recommendations have given me some real gems – Ethiopian Jazz, South African Amapiano, Eighties British Pop – but the thrill of discovery pales into comparison to how it used to feel to bring a new purchase home and listen for the first time.

So, I’m setting myself a challenge. I have cancelled my Spotify subscription, bought a Walkman, and am going to spend the next year embracing physical again. I am going to spend what I’ve been paying for Spotify per month on new, and second hand, cassette tapes, buying from record stores, and directly from artists and labels. I am going to take time to explore a fascinating underground subculture that never really went away, and continues to thrive – with just a cursory search, I’ve found at least ten cassette-exclusive record labels still operating here in the UK, with far more in the USA.

This is not some hipster holier-than-thou fashion statement. It’s an experiment in reclaiming my brain, valuing music and rediscovering the power of scarcity. I’m excited to see what’s out there, to spend some quality time digging around, and to delay my gratification by actually waiting and anticipating my purchases arriving.

Building a vinyl collection is very tempting, but expensive and impractical. Tapes are alluring because they are both portable and have such an interesting history. They at one time signalled the death of the recording industry. Mail order tape swapping was the original peer to peer file sharing, responsible for the growth of genres like Hip Hop, Thrash and Black Metal. Many of you will remember the skull and crossbones tape logo forbidding home recording. But tapes exploded in popularity, because they were so personal, so DIY.

Tapes are having a comeback moment as more and more people like me look for ways to change their relationship to music. They’re also a great way to support the DIY music scene and your favourite artists.

I’m sharing this with you is a way of keeping myself accountable to this challenge. I will be keeping a diary throughout the process, and will send an update in the next few months about how the experience has been. I would love you to reply to this email if you have memories to share, so if you ever sent off for tapes in the mail, or documented concerts on tape, do get in touch!

George

(Independent Artist of the Week: Blane Cox is a songwriter from Melissa, Texas. Blane can no longer play the guitar for health reasons, but continues to have his songs recorded at one-stop shops – so the singer is also the musician, recording engineer, mixer, and in some cases, the mastering engineer too. Check him out.)

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