Music used to be scarce.
You had to seek it out. Drive to the record store. Save up for the album. Listen to the whole thing because you owned it.
Now? It's everywhere. Every song, every time, every place.
This is extraordinary. A teenager in rural Montana can discover an underground jazz quartet from Tokyo. An artist can release a song at midnight and have it heard by someone in Brazil by breakfast. The barriers to both creation and discovery have never been lower.
The question isn't whether this abundance is good or bad.
The question is what we do with it.
Because the same platforms that democratized distribution also created new pressures. The algorithm watches. It learns. When we skip, it notices. When we stay, it remembers.
This creates a gravity well. Music that doesn't get skipped rises. Music that gets skipped sinks.
So what survives?
Often, it's the safe music. The predictable music. Music that sounds like other music we already liked.
But the same tools that create this pressure also create opportunity.
The artist who understands the game can use it. Not by playing it safe, but by being strategically bold.
The distribution is free. The audience is global. The only question is whether you'll use these tools to chase the algorithm or to find your people.
Kate Bush wrote Wuthering Heights. Odd. Shrill. Literary. No label wanted it. It hit number one and made her a household name.
Prince dropped Purple Rain. Nine minutes long. Guitar solos that screamed. It became an anthem.
Björk never asked if her songs fit playlists. She built a global career being unmistakably herself.
The platform gave them global reach. But they didn't let the platform change their voice.
None of them played it safe. None of them made background music.
Here's what the algorithm gets wrong: It optimizes for not being skipped instead of optimizing for being remembered.
But memorable is what matters.
Memorable is what builds careers. What creates fans instead of casual listeners. What turns a song into a cultural moment.
The choice is simple. Blend in or stand out. Make playlist wallpaper or make something unforgettable.
Lean into the long intro. Embrace the jagged edges. Let your voice crack.
Because in a world drowning in content, the scarcest thing isn't another song.
It's a song that could only come from you.
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