i'm a lazy music listener
Recently wondered if I should cancel my Spotify subscription. Even asked a few others their opinions.
The following is a bit heretical I guess, especially in the eyes of music enthusiasts, but I actually don't care about music much :(
I do like it as background music to focus or when playing board/card games with people. I like it to break up monotony on long commutes. I like when I can play it to get me in a specific mood. I like how you can feel like a movie character or in a music video when you listen. I like how clever and amazing some lyrics are and how they can fit to your life or situations. I like combining songs into playlists. I like weird, funny, silly, experimental music, music that makes me feel very confident, music that makes me laugh, some unserious music.
But I'm not as enthusiastic about it as other people, it's just all very surface level for me. I'm not really an album listener; I like to pick and choose and make my own playlists based on themes and vibes. Many of the artists I listen to have about 1-2 songs I really like and that's it, I don't listen to the rest. I don't care about how it is made, about quality, or the person behind it necessarily. I am not one to buy merch, I'm not really much of a a concert goer (twice), I am not an album purchaser, and it has been that way since before Spotify made it so convenient.
I remember growing up, I found it exhausting and annoying to find new music, or even purchase music I like. What do you mean I just have to buy this CD and hope for the best without knowing if I'll like the sound? And have to sell it when I don't like it? Why can't I just get the song I heard on the radio that I like, but have to pay for the entire album? I had some albums, many given to me by my parents, and I did like those and listened to them up and down as a child. But those were the exceptions. As an early teen when buying individual songs digitally was made possible, I frequently postponed buying the songs I liked to be able to listen to them whenever I wanted, and instead always heard it on the radio and thought "Still need to buy this later." and never did. To this day I have never bought Hips Don't Lie by Shakira that I wanted 20 years ago! I was so lazy about music that I couldn't even be bothered to buy one song, and I am still like that. I think the most I cared was at 13 years old when I ripped all Slipknot albums off of YouTube via downloaders, and a very brief period in 2019 when I tried out buying albums on Apple Music but didn't like it.
I understand when people say Spotify and accessibility to music all the time has devalued it, and it makes sense - it was made for people like me who don't care. People who need songs as distraction, as a little pastime, to create their own art based on playlists or short form video. The music is the backdrop, the paint, whatever, but they could do without it. It's purely about comfort. If it's not smooth sailing, we'll simply just not consume. Streaming is the only way to squeeze money out of people like me.
I wouldn't find new music if it wasn't for Spotify forcing it down my throat. I would likely not listen to music if they didn't make it so easy. I wouldn't buy albums, I wouldn't buy individual songs. Artists would get no money from me because I wouldn't even buy the merch or go to their concerts. I would simply disappear from their revenue. I have to assume that by actually keeping my Spotify subscription, they get more from me than they would without it, which is wild to think about when they just get cents for streams.
I really questioned it, but deep down I just know I wouldn't start building up a digital or analog album collection. I wouldn't switch to something like Bandcamp. I don't care about music enough to justify the (digital or offline) space, the money, the effort. Much of the music I listen to feels silly to buy because while I like to casually listen, it would personally not be worth the money to be to actually own it? Not that the artists don't deserve the money, this is entirely about judging my own spending habits. I would have to justify why I buy 'Itty Bitty' by Ashnikko to myself. Having to spend money in such a dedicated way would make me judge my consumption way too hard. Some music means enough to me to listen to for fun but not enough to actually own or put effort into. I just want occasional access. Make of that what you will.
I feel like a crazy outlier, but it is what it is.
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Published 11 Apr, 2025