Music

My name‿ is Julia. Music‿ accompanies my whole day,│ and‿ I have never been‿ able to work‿ in silence. What has changed‿ is│ where the music comes from:│ I no longer‿ own‿ anything,│ I subscribe to everything.

Streaming has made‿ an‿ enormous‿ amount‿ available│ and,│ at the same time,│ has made the economics‿ of being‿ a musician‿ almost‿ impossible. My brother plays‿ in‿ a ban(d) with thirty^thir-dy thousan(d) monthly listeners‿ and‿ earns less from that‿ audience than he did from selling two hundred CDs‿ in 2009. Live performance‿ is│ where the money is now,│ which‿ is why tickets have become so expensive,│ an(d) why the atmosphere‿ at‿ a big concert‿ is‿ often better^be-der than the recording. Royalties have been shifted from the song to the tour.

As‿ a listener,│ I have mixed feelings. The playlists‿ are convenient│ an(d) they have‿ introduced me to genres‿ I would never have found‿ alone. However,│ they also flatten taste,│ because the algorithm feeds you what you^whatcha have‿ already liked. My father played the guitar‿ an(d) made me learn the piano for six years,│ which‿ I resented‿ at the time. If the melody has disappeared from the charts,│ which‿ I suspect‿ it has,│ then talent‿ is still there,│ an(d) so is nostalgia for the way we used to^usta listen.