When I read the headline about yet another new music platform, my anxiety level spiked a little. I’m not going to lie. But after looking into it, I realized Subvert is aligned with a lot of the concepts I’ve been writing about.
Described as the co-op version of Bandcamp, Subvert’s breakdown is fairly simple: its platform is owned by its members — music listeners, musicians and labels — instead of big corporations or tech billionaires. Artists keep 100% of sales, fans buy into the co-op with a one-time $100 membership fee and become partial owners with voting rights in how the platform operates.
The most structurally interesting decision Subvert has made is its fee model: 0% platform fees. When a fan buys music, the full purchase price goes to the artist. At checkout, buyers see optional contribution amounts to fund the platform – 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or nothing at all. - Niall Byrne (read more here)
Sounds utopian, right? Too good to be true?
Well, yeah...But I’m rooting for it.
In order for the platform to stay alive, music fans have to be willing to spend extra money simply because they want to support a more artist-friendly model.
I imagine some Gen X’ers and a few millennials being willing to do it, but what about the younger generations that have never had to make the effort to go to a brick and mortar business to purchase a physical form of media? What about those who have never had to spend any money to stream their favorite song? What about those who are passive listeners and can’t name the artists from their favorite “chill vibes” playlist?
I’m not saying that to be cynical. I’m being realistic. That doesn’t mean I don’t support what Subvert is trying to do, though. I do. No matter how imperfect or, perhaps, delusional it is.
When musicians and music lovers talk about the music industry now, all I hear about is how broken everything is. Algorithms, ticket prices, social media, AI, the collapse of the middle-class artist, the death of scenes, the death of attention spans, the death of culture. I get it. I feel it. It’s grim…
But, unless you’re ready to fully give up, it seems like the only thing left to do is experiment with different ways to move forward.
Last year, I wrote a newsletter about how endlessly bitching about Spotify and the state of the music business isn’t going to get musicians anywhere. As you know, I love to bitch but, ultimately, it’s not going to solve anything. No tech bro, streaming CEO, or major record label executive is coming to save indie artists. If artists are going to survive and evolve with the times, it will be because of communities of musicians and listeners who actively support each other.
Since then, I’ve been working hard on a way to walk the walk (rather than just write about it):
The label is built largely around collaborative singles between established artists and emerging ones. The hope is that collaboration creates a more sustainable, mutually beneficial ecosystem. We want it to be a label that operates as a collective and consists of a network of people who support each other.
I’ll talk more about Sick in future posts, after it officially launches this summer (sign up for our mailing list). But its business model overlaps with that of Subvert’s, because it can only work if we succeed in building a community to foster it. Like Subvert, Sick is taking the risk of asking people to do something that sounds simple but may actually be very difficult: participate.
As my readers know, I have a very skeptical general view of the music business, due to lived experience. But I’m hopeful and trying my best. The only way we can find out if “community” works is by testing it out in practice instead of just romanticizing it online. Because the uncomfortable truth is that community sounds great to people until it requires effort or sacrifice.
After years of algorithmic individualism, personal branding, streaming economics, social media competition, and the already existing ego problems artists are famous for, I’m not certain that we will actually show up for one another. After all, utilitarian reward is not very enticing these days. We’re exhausted, broke, insecure, and trained to prioritize short-term, day-by-day survivalism. Thus, a co-op music platform and an artist-run label can only be seen as experiments for now…
Subvert is betting on music fans to go beyond what’s convenient to take the extra step to support artists if given a more ethical, transparent platform to do so.
Sick is betting on artists wanting to meaningfully support one another for the sake of collective survival.
I don’t know which bet is riskier, but we’re going to find out.
c u next thursday.
XX CARRÉ
PS: you can see me sooner if you want to join Gabbie (New Bands for Old Heads) and me for a live Substack chat this Sunday at 5pm EST. Join here.
PPS: As I mentioned, Sick won’t launch until this summer, but you can give us a follow on Instagram or sign up for our mailing list now.
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