• Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    2 days ago

    Same thing happened with music.

    It doesn’t mean AAA will go away, just like big stadium packing artists like Taylor Swift never went away. They just accounted for less of the industry’s total profits than they used to.

    More of people’s disposable money is spent on a wider variety of music and games, often opting for more “indie” and cheaper versions of both. It’s a good thing, honestly, for people’s tastes to be more diversified and unique.

      • GTG3000@programming.dev
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        1 day ago

        It’s funny, I recall Benn Jordan saying in multiple videos of his that his profits went up when he removed all his music from spotify.

      • SaraTonin@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Live shows and merch have been the way artists make money since before streaming was a thing

        • Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works
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          1 day ago

          Yeah, except now we would have the capacity to give money directly to artists. Platforms like shittyfy have shown people are willing to pay a couple of bucks a months to get access to music, we need to redirect the money to the artists and not some greedy ceo. Bandcamp is a start, we can do better.

          • SaraTonin@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            What I’m saying is that record sales have been unprofitable for artists for a long time, so Spotify hasn’t really moved the needle on that point

        • Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works
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          2 days ago

          I mean, it’s ok I guess, but as a musician myself that’s not helping much either. Buy some stuff on bandcamp (85% goes to the artists, cheap and often pay what you want) or if you need streaming get Tidal, they give 3x than spotify and didn’t give 100 millions to joe rogan.

          • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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            1 day ago

            Huh. Just found out that Bandcamp isn’t owned by Epic Games anymore. It was sold off to someone else back in 2023. Guess I don’t have a reason to boycott it now

            • Final Remix@lemmy.world
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              1 day ago

              There wasn’t really a reason to boycott it anyway. Epic just wanted “free” access to a massive library for their games, like how EA Trax used to be a thing. Nothing changed about bandcamp in the meantime.

            • Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works
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              1 day ago

              I’m not gonna get started on this, but Epic or not, this is and was one of the only way to give money directly to artists. If you boycott Epic I really hope you boycott steam also cause they’re no better.

              • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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                24 hours ago

                Fuck off with your false equivalence bullshit.

                EGS has used anticompetitive and anti consumer practices from day one, all because Tim Swiney is a petty asshole that wants to be at the top of the pile.

                Meanwhile Valve has generally been pro-consumer and built a relatively good service

                • Yerbouti@sh.itjust.works
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                  11 hours ago

                  Lol, another steam sucker ready to die for billionaire Gabe. They basically invented gambling for chlidren, they actually are the one that have anticompetitive practice lmfao, they dont let you own your games, they take a huge cut of 30% (epic take 12%, but you dont care about game devs right), they make billions in profit but employ less than 300 people.

                  But I’ve met enough of your kind to know your cognitive dissonance to know that no amount of proofs that steam suck would make you stop kissing their ass. You guys are the maga of gaming lol. So yeah, the hard truth is you don’t like games you like steam, and you dont like music, you like yourself. Now fuck off yourself, you are the problem.

                  • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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                    9 hours ago

                    They basically invented gambling for chlidren

                    The gambling sites aren’t owned by Valve

                    they actually are the one that have anticompetitive practice

                    Citation desperately needed, and not just the one internal email from 10 years ago that reads like a misunderstanding.

                    they take a huge cut of 30%

                    30% is standard across the industry, including itch.io and GOG. And given that EGS just laid off 1000 employees, it’s looking like 12% isn’t a sustainable business model.

                    Don’t forget that EGS has been using anti-consumer policies like paid exclusives from the start. Meanwhile Steam, GOG, and itch.io don’t force exclusivity, allowing an open ecosystem. Tim Swiney isn’t against monopolies, he’s just mad that he doesn’t habe one.

                    And let’s not forget that Steam has been investing in open source and Linux gaming for years. PC gaming are getting close to a point where making walled off gardens becomes impossible.

                    Do I think billionaires should exist? No. But when there’s one that’s actively building systems to keep digital ecosystems open permanently, I’m willing to make an exception.

                    But you’re clearly just some gullible jackass that fell for Tim Swiney’s propaganda hook line and sinker. You speak of cognitive dissonance despite being fully immersed in it yourself. Go touch grass; you desperately need it.

          • Snot Flickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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            2 days ago

            Also bandcamp gives you high quality DRM FLAC files (or really whatever audio filetype you want) and those files are yours to keep, forever. You can also stream stuff you’ve bought through the bandcamp website. They also still do bandcamp fridays where 100% of the sale goes to the artist. Next bandcamp friday is May 1st.

            Another option is direct-from-artist sales if they have their own website and store. Do vinyls still come with codes for an mp3 copy? I remember my vinyl for The Mean Jeans - Are You Serious? had a code and a link to download an mp3 copy of the album.

            I got into music piracy back in the day because it used to be that record companies paid artists badly so I spent money on concerts and merch, now Spotify pays artists badly for the record companies. Anyway, if used at all piracy is best used to find artists you really love and then spend your money on legitimately purchasing their music.

          • strifegroove@ani.social
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            2 days ago

            I love Bandcamp. It does not have much of a filter so I get to find small and under the radar artists.

            Personally I buy 90% of my music either on Bandcamp or as a CD in my local store… rip it… throw it on Jellyfin for easy streamikg

          • Grilipper54@sh.itjust.works
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            1 day ago

            Musicians aren’t making much on any streaming platform. I wish I could afford to purchase more music on bandcamp but it’s been years since I’ve been able to.

            If you don’t care too much how the music is used, music licensing can bring in money, it doesn’t necessarily have to be used in Ads.

        • Enekk@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          Can I suggest occasionally buying stuff through something like Bandcamp? You get digital music and support the artist. Or, just buy some merch I guess.

      • illusionist@lemmy.zip
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        1 day ago

        Sounds like you’re someone who thought a little about pricing.

        Why should anyone get a royalty for a listen?

        There’s a club in my town with a dj who plays each week. Club gets paid, dj gets paid. His sets are like ads for his work in the club. Why would I have to pay for each listen? Why would he has to earn for each listen?

        Especially if that DJ is residing somewhere else and won’t ever come to my town because it’s too small for him.

        Why do we create superstars? Why does “superstar S” have to be paid millions because millions come to their show. Even though I stand 500 m away, I can’t see them, I can’t hear them properly. Why can’t it be that there is a cover band covering those songs. Maybe even doing a better job. On a loval concert, with great sound, a good stage, less crowd, less people, more fun.

        Why do we cheer a dj with electronic music, who just plays one song after the other, with a little bit of mixing now and then and choosing the next track based on the crowd? Why aren’t people in the center of the music (anymore)?

        Why is our system so fucked up?