I recently came across an article on Audio Services that’s worth your time if you care at all about how music gets made and how it reaches the people who need it.
It’s called “How to Leave Spotify” and it’s not just about quitting a streaming platform. It’s about waking up from a comfortable dream that might not be serving us anymore.
At its heart, the piece lays out a simple but uncomfortable truth: for many independent artists and producers, Spotify feels like a black hole that swallows up music and spits out fractions of cents.
The author, Pheek, doesn’t just rant about royalties (though that alone is enough to make you want to delete your artist profile). He goes deeper, unpacking how Spotify shapes not just how we listen, but how we create.
One part that really stuck with me is how the platform’s algorithms push us to write for playlists, short songs, quick hooks, endless “vibes” instead of writing what truly moves us. It’s like planting seeds in shallow soil: they sprout fast, but never grow deep roots.
Pheek argues that walking away from Spotify can be an act of artistic self-respect. He doesn’t pretend it’s easy (we’re trained to think that without Spotify we’ll vanish into silence) but he offers real ways to break free.
Build your own audience. Offer downloads direct. Tap into Bandcamp, your own site, your mailing list, anything that puts you back in the driver’s seat.
Reading this, I found myself nodding and wincing at the same time. I’ve felt this tension too. As musicians and songwriters, we’re told the only path forward is to feed the machine, one track at a time, hoping for a playlist spot that might cover the cost of a coffee.
But maybe there’s another way. Maybe leaving Spotify, or at least building something alongside it, is how we remember why we do this in the first place: to make real connections, to build something lasting, to earn more than fractions of a cent for our work.
I know this isn’t a black-and-white issue. I still use streaming too. It’s convenient, it’s part of how people discover us, but if we’re not careful, it can quietly drain us of our creative power and our income at the same time.
So if any of this strikes a chord, I really recommend reading the full piece. It’s clear, honest, and practical and not preachy, just a gentle nudge to ask yourself: who owns your music? Who do you want to own it? And how can you take even a small step towards keeping that power in your own hands?
Read “How to Leave Spotify” here.
When you’ve read it, I’d love to hear what you think. Have you left Spotify behind? Are you tempted to try? Drop a comment, send me an email, let’s keep this conversation going.
After all, music deserves better and so do we.
