Notices by Ether Diver (etherdiver@ravenation.club), page 4

The money you spend at Spotify, Apple, etc DOES NOT GO TO ARTISTS for the most part. The money that DOES go to artists on those platforms goes by and large to the 1% of musicians -- the Taylor Swifts and the Beatles and BTS's of the world-- who have leverage to get decent contracts. Your typical independent, o and even many/most "successful" artists on smaller labels, make essentially NOTHING from streaming.

By contrast, today at least, EVERY DOLLAR YOU SPEND goes into an artist's pocket (ok, we still pay payment processing fees, but it's like 50 cents). And even on a normal day, Bandcamp takes a *very* reasonable 15% of each sale.

Three sales today is equal, or better, to a YEAR'S worth of typical streaming revenue for the majority of artists out there...

And the bottom line is, if you don't support the art you like, it's going to stop being made.

So go find an artist you like, a smaller one, on Bandcamp and drop the same $15 you send to Spotify every month in their pocket. For truly small artists, a single sale can literally make their day!

NO ONE is going to notice or care that you spent $15 on Spotify, but the same $$$ spent say BC can be life changing to a struggling artist.

And yes, I'm one of those artists (and here's my album, just in case:
https://etherdiver.bandcamp.com/) but this isn't even about me per se; if this post inspired zero sales for me but one for another indie artist, it's done its job.

THE STREAMING ECONOMY IS A LIE. SUPPORT ART WITH DIRECT PAYMENTS.

One more time, for those in the back (and those who want to repost it as a standalone message):

THE STREAMING ECONOMY IS A LIE. SUPPORT ART WITH DIRECT PAYMENTS.

One more note for today that don't know: it actually COSTS ARTISTS MONEY to be on the streaming services! While it's not a huge amount (starts at $20 a year), it's actually a net loss for possibly the MAJORITY of artists on those platforms. How fucked up is that?!?

By contrast, Bandcamp allows you to directly upload your music and host it FOR FREE, even if you don't charge people to download it.

So yeah. Support artists, not streaming corporations.

So I don't suppose five of you reading this have six minutes or so to listen to this track and let me know what you think? It's the climactic track of the album! It's based on a William James quote! It's real weird!

Oh, you could also give me a boost!

https://etherdiver.bandcamp.com/track/the-madman-drowns-in-the-same-waters-in-which-the-mystic-swims-with-joyful-ease

#music #feedback #ListenToThis #PsychedelicGhostStories

If you're seeing all these #BandcampFriday posts and thinking, "Eh, why bother?" let me point out that the $15 you spend on Spotify this month goes almost entirely to guys with "executive" in their job title/description, with the remainder going almost entirely to already hugely successful artists who, frankly, do not need more money. No one cares you spent the money.

That same $15 on Bandcamp today, if spent on an indie artist? About $14.50 goes to the artist, and you might make their week.