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I don't understand the hatred of Spotify. The constant denigration of its payment system and the animus directed at Daniel Ek.
Then I read this article in today's "New York Times":
"How Liberalism Went to Die on the Texas-Arkansas Border"
Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/opinion/liberalism-texarkana-economy-democracy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dk8.Q46T.dtVsEBHA75e2&smid=url-share
You need to read this article, but you also need to read the comments, which spew hatred at the writer and his message.
I'm sitting here wondering why we have the movies produced, the songs recorded and the TV shows displayed. For an educated person, they seem extremely lowbrow, they don't resonate.
But this is what the public wants.
Now three-quarters of the people reading this won't click through to the above piece because it's in the "New York Times." To the right it's a bastion of liberal dishonesty. To the left left it's too conservative.
And there you have America in a nutshell, no consensus.
How about the movies? You remember the movies, don't you? Not unless you're a boomer or older. Sure, some movies represented escapism, but mostly they reflected lives and values. "The Graduate"? As for "Bonnie & Clyde," there was deep analysis of the characters and the filmmaking and...what's there to say about a Marvel movie?
Records used to sway the culture, beamed from the heartbeat of America, the radio. Now they're escapism. When did this start? In the last half of the eighties, certainly into the nineties.
As for TV... Have you noticed that Netflix has gone deep into reality shows?
What do all of these changes have in common? MONEY!
The blockbuster era in movies ushered in by "Jaws" and "Star Wars."
The highly-produced videos that sold tonnage of CDs.
And what was the exponent of all of the above? MONEY!
At first it was cool. "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."
But at some point the populace woke up and realized they'd been screwed, there was no opportunity for them to become rich and famous, other than to win the lottery, or become a pop star.
You could play the market, follow wallstreetbets, but then be ultimately creamed by the professionals.
Go to college and they'll teach you how to analyze and appreciate artistic works. Go to college and you've got a ticket for a better job. Stay home in your burg and stop at high school and what are your opportunities? All the high-paying manufacturing jobs left. Used to be you moved for better opportunities, now nobody can afford this.
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The underclass, the lower classes, have been screwed, and they know it. Would musicians hate Spotify as much if it wasn't started by Daniel Ek who became a billionaire as a result of its success? Note that there's not an equal hatred of Apple or Amazon. Those are faceless corporations. But Ek? A greedy nobody from Sweden?
That's how many musicians see him.
They bought the American dream. If you work hard you can make it and get rich. They saw everybody on MTV. They saw all those players making bank. And what did they have in common? The majority had no college degree. In other words, there were no impediments to your success. You could start at home and then become rich and world famous.
Forget that this is untrue. Back before the internet most people couldn't afford to record their music, and distribution was an impossibility. Wannabe musicians today see a direct path from nowhere to somewhere. And when they don't get somewhere, it has to be somebody else's fault. Spotify and Daniel Ek's.
Now I come from a previous era. We all wanted to be musicians, we all picked up guitars after seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, but it soon became clear who had the talent and who didn't. And even the punters knew it was nearly impossible to get a recording contract. As for a recording studio? That was an exotic place we yearned to get into, even more than the nightclubs behind the velvet rope that didn't let most people through.
So let's say you never made it as a musician, you still don't make it as a musician. You can't become a doctor or a lawyer unless you have boatloads of education. As for tech, can you code? Maybe you've watched "Shark Tank" and you're in your garage formulating a product. But one thing is for sure, you're not going to look into the mirror and say you're a loser, no way. But in a world that venerates billionaires, on some level you feel like one.
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I guess I don't understand how you want to get paid if no one listens to your music. Seems like raw economics to me. There are certain jobs that only few can do. I'd love to play in the MLB, but I don't have the skills. I accept this. But when it comes to music...
The star musicians of the golden era, the Beatles and after, what is called classic rock, a great percentage were from the middle class, with middle class values. They were sticking it to the man. Now people want to BE the man. With brands and sponsorships. The goal is to get into bed with the Fortune 500, isn't that the essence of being an influencer? Otherwise, how are you going to get rich?
You're not.
Where did your opportunity go?
Oh, the wealthy wanted nothing to do with you, they rigged the system so you couldn't even get into their schools. The elite colleges are almost all need blind. Meaning if you have the academic qualifications and no money, you'll get a free ride. Don't believe me?
"All 116 Need-Blind Colleges in the US: A Complete Guide"
https://blog.prepscholar.com/need-blind-colleges-list
That was an easy google, but you have to know what to look for. And it's on a site called "PrepScholar" and if you didn't go to prep school...
Reagan lowered taxes on the rich. Clinton signed NAFTA. And somewhere along the line many were left behind, and they're pissed.
And the liberal left just can't understand this. They worked hard for their position in life, they earned their riches, as for those without...they're lazy drug addict whiners. Read the comments to the above article. DEFINITELY READ THE COMMENTS! There's no introspection whatsoever. Those who voted for Trump are ignorant, the commenters are secure in their position. They delineate all the ways in which the Republicans and their minions are guilty. They point to people with money who are Republicans. But most interesting is the wealthy Democrats who want HIGHER taxes! That altruistic moral value, it's absent from most of society, I mean if you're struggling...
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So what have we established here. I've linked to a "New York Times" article that points to the left and its beliefs and policies and promotion thereof that have ended up with the right in power. This pisses off everybody. The typical "Times" reader just can't accept it, can't even think or analyze it, and those on the right decline to partake, believing that the "Times" is one big conspiracy.
As for the "news" outlets on the right... They're selling slanted falsehoods supported by the sale of supplements. And the church... You've got to believe if you've got nothing, something isn't right.
But those on the left refuse to accept any responsibility for the loss of Harris, never mind the country. They can't be guilty, it's always someone else's responsibility.
It's a dark day in America today. Can you afford to be an optimist?
Well, one thing is for sure, other than the super-wealthy, no one is willing to sacrifice, they don't want to lose a single thing they have.
So...
Get out GarageBand and make a record. Hell, you can buy beats, you can do it. Look at all the rappers who've made it. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten into the back of a cab or an Uber and the driver has told me they're a rapper. They don't tell me they're a doctor or even a coder, they're a rapper.
As for the public...
There are the brain-dead youngsters enamored of K-pop. Which sells a fantasy culture not much different from the Marvel movies.
Then there are those who go to the show more to hang with their buddies and shoot selfies than listen to the bands. After all, the bands come and go, and they're here forever.
But to have change we must have introspection. Which we see almost nowhere. No one can be wrong. That's the point of reading the comments to this article. NO ONE questions themselves.
But look at internet hate... What is it about? You have something I want. And if I can't have it I'm going to drag you down into the hole I'm in.
That's the pervading policy in America today. I'm going to bring you down to my level. Which those at upper levels just can't understand, they just don't know how it got so far.
As for literature... Have you been following the brouhaha from the disgruntled novelist saying that there are no male writers? That they're not celebrated by the media/cognoscenti? One thing is for sure... The "New York Times" Book Review is overwhelmed with the novels of women, gay people and those of color. Immigrants telling their story. It's nearly laughable. Now some of these books are good, but where is the story men can relate to?
I don't want to walk back feminism, nor racial advancement. But seemingly no one on the left can admit that Kamala Harris was a bad candidate. If you say this, you're RACIST! And SEXIST TOO! But one of my favorite lefties who'd hung with her labeled her "inauthentic." BINGO! AND I VOTED FOR HER!
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The sixties were all about revolution. Today it's about conformity, bitching, complaining that the system didn't work for you.
As for major labels... They don't want to sign anything that won't rain down money, no matter what the artistic merit. The Mo and Joe days of Warner/Reprise way back when are completely history. Can you imagine a label today signing Beaver & Krause? Do you even know who Beaver & Krause were? Never mind Ry Cooder and so many more.
But all we can focus on is the money and how we ain't got none. And we alternately hate and envy those who've got it.
But where is our opportunity?
That is the question.
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