> I guess it probably depends upon ones consumption but this strategy seems outdated because nowadays private trackers/groups eg discords seem to make up a much larger share of piracy etc but I guess that’s more hurting all of the people lower on the hierarchy of content creation than the big record labels.
I think a better way when it comes to big record labels is to refuse to listen to or watch their stuff even if you can get it free of cost. Don't give them your time at all.
Because being on a big label suddenly makes the art bad? If I like a song I need to do research and trace it's origin? I don't understand how this is a viable idea nor how it helps
Culture is about shared experience, anything that cuts you off from sharing in popular culture has a cost. You might not care, but I think - particularly for children/teens - there is significant cost.
Music has largely stopped being a shared experience, that’s hard to demonstrate but the same thing happened to TV. Who shot JR on Dallas was the kind of thing people talked about and the resolution episode got 53.3% ratings share in 1980, that was only topped by final Episode of M.A.S.H which hit 60.2%.
Only 2 shows in the last 25 years even approached it. Seinfeld Finale - "The Finale" hit 41.3% 24 years ago and Friends hit 35.6% 18 years ago.
In 2020 by comparison the Super Bowl was 4x as popular as the most watched single TV episode and streaming was dominated by people watching reruns not new shows. Average viewership of actual TV shows is unsurprisingly much lower.
PS: Best selling albums of 2020 included #12 Abbey Road by The Beatles, and #6 was the Frozen II soundtrack.
it doesnt make the art intrinsicly bad, but is a yellow brick road to it.
almost every body likes fame or fortune, but this leads to demands, to generate product according to the employers specifications, AKA "commercialization"
I think a better way when it comes to big record labels is to refuse to listen to or watch their stuff even if you can get it free of cost. Don't give them your time at all.