We are in a golden era for buying and selling digital LPs. While I’ll use Bandcamp, sleek alternatives like Ampwall, Subvert, and Mirlo are equally great options. These online markets inherently incentivize artists to avoid filler or risk losing a sale, while the subscription streaming model requires artists to pad their catalog for pay per play. Streaming has revived the worst trope of the old music industry: the album that is just “two hits and a bunch of crap.”
Spotify’s business model demands album filler because the platform pays out royalties based on “stream share” which trigger a payout the second a track hits the 30 second mark, incentivizing artists to maximize volume over value. This has fundamentally warped modern songwriting: albums are aggressively padded with short, two minute tracks and repetitive hooks designed specifically to feed the algorithm and inflate stream counts. On Spotify, a deep, cohesive artistic statement takes a back seat to sheer data output, turning what should be a focused LP into a bloated playlist of algorithmic bait.
Accidental hits happen way more often than you’d think. As it turns out, artists are notoriously bad at predicting their own success. When you buy a digital LP on a platform like Bandcamp, you are investing in a complete and curated piece of art where even the tracks the artist never expected to blow up exist naturally as part of a cohesive story. On subscription services like Spotify, those same happy accidents are treated like lottery tickets while surrounded by cynical, algorithm optimized filler designed just to farm streams. Buying the album ensures you are experiencing those unexpected gems as genuine creative discoveries, rather than digging through algorithmic bloat to find them.
Bandcamp serves the genre; streaming serves the algorithm. When producers target platforms like Spotify, artistic nuances like tempo variations and volume dynamics are sacrificed to strict LUFS loudness standards and predictable, club friendly danceability. This algorithmic pressure strips electronic and club music of its experimental edge, forcing tracks into a uniform, compressed sonic mold just to survive on a playlist. On Bandcamp, however, the music is freed from these rigid streaming constraints, allowing producers to prioritize raw genre authenticity and dynamic storytelling over sanitized, playlist ready optimization. Soundtrack and orchestral music have become major casualties of this shift, as their essential cinematic highs and quiet, emotional lows are flattened into a lifeless wall of sound just to meet streaming’s volume requirements.
Just so we’re clear, I’m not here to sell you my album. Go ahead and enjoy the whole thing ad free on my website. https://thejoyo.com/#more
I have already left Spotify, but joined tidal because of the HiFi streaming quality and because they pay their artists more per stream. However, I still don’t feel like I did enough research or digging to see if tidal is still bad or not. Does anyone know more on them and also if there’s a better, more artist-centric option?
So, all posts are from the perspective of people that are really into music. Enthusiasts that care deeply about individual albums and artists.
Whereas streaming services are most likely designed to cater to casual listeners like me. I can’t remember the last time I listened to an entire album. I haven’t liked any individual artist enough to attend a live concert. I generally listen to music while I’m doing stuff as background noise.
I used to listen to the radio for that. But streaming services algorithms were a strict upgrade to that due to lack of ads and talk show hosts.
Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll be able to determine whether a given piece of music is AI generated or not by listening to it.
So I don’t think direct purchase of digital LPs could ever be viable for people like me. And I’m guessing (based on the success of streaming services) that there are a lot more people like me than there are enthusiasts. Yes, I can switch to the least bad streaming service according to Lemmy, out of solidarity (and no other reason). Remember 99% of people won’t do that.
Just adding a perspective that might be missing from this community
Songs have been filler and short from the radio era. To blame streaming for that is wild. Blame capitalism.
Which also occurs in albums as well. There are plenty of filler music in almost every album ever made. If anything, streaming disincentivizes filler tracks - each track has to compete for attention. Though, in practice this is going to depend on recommendation and discovery algorithms.
I blame both capitalism and the capitalist subscription streaming service.
Just call it an album dude. An LP is vinyl. Digital LP, while I get it refers to a specific length… Aaaaa it feels like you’re pedanting where you don’t have to pedant. We get you, you’re among friends and well wishers and Satan’s maggoty cumfart is probably here and probably likes you too
Where is the image from?
Kansas.
How have you not seen the wizard of Oz dude go watch a movie. That’s like the most famous movie.
I met a Gen Z that never heard of or watched Ghostbuters. The kids aren’t watching classics
