Streaming services have changed the economics of music rapidly.
Before platforms like Spotify, people consumed recorded music either by:

A. listening on the radio
or
B. buying it.

A. listening on the radio :
Had no economic involvement from the listener. Plenty of radio listeners would have never bought an album or a single that they listened on the radio. Could be catchy, not bother anyone, be heard -many many many- times but that would not mean that the artist is receiving money from this interaction.

B. buying it:
Was a direct transaction between a fan an artist. On the other side of the spectrum, a fan could listen an album not as often, but cherrish the emotional return much more, and thus, maybe buy another album from the same artist or some similar forms of direct support.


Then Streamin Services came along

These two forms of listening had the same economic effect, multiple listening from the latest viral hit is more valued (economically speaking) than a single listen of a song that could be moving someone deeply. And listeners sleep well thinking that they are paying legally for their music, and everyone is getting their fair share of it, but a single stream on average is worth $0.004. Equating the kind of listening that was described on A. with B. is only widening the gap between artists that can afford to have an economic backing and also push music that is less risky, prone to repetition.

This extension is just an attempt at balancing this a bit, using collective action and the power of the time where our Spotify accounts are idle. While also showcasing the minimal income that comes from streaming services as middle-persons take a big part in a system that getting close to a monopoly.

Download the extension