1. Home
2. Blog
3. Music Spotlight

Can the Music Industry Survive Without Spotify? 12 Musicians Respond to the Unthinkable

By Chris RoditisMusicngear Lead Editor

Would we actually be better off without Spotify?

It's a question that's been whispered in rehearsal rooms, ranted about in tour vans, and quietly seethed over on artist dashboards showing microscopic payouts for thousands of streams. But what if the unthinkable happened? What if Spotify, the tech giant that pays artists fractions of a cent while building billion-dollar valuations - and whose CEO recently invested in an AI weapons firm - disappeared overnight?

We posed this very question to a wide spectrum of musicians, from DIY punks to alt-pop dreamers. The answers reveal deep frustration, surprising nuance, and the truth of what it means to make music in a system that was never really built for artists to begin with.

Some artists didn't flinch. In their eyes, Spotify isn't just flawed, it’s actively destructive - exploitative, extractive, and hostile to creativity.
 

Mark Fredson

"100 percent, we'd be better off if Spotify didn't exist. People would go back to discovering music via word of mouth, radio, and physical products they actually have to pay for.  There's no doubt in my mind we'd be better off without Spotify. But at least the canvases look cool?"

Jordan Duffy

"I deeply miss the days of my youth, going to the music store to grab the latest CD, tape cassette, or vinyl to listen to the entirety of my favorite artist's latest album. It's an absolute scam how little artists make from streaming platforms...I would not miss them if they disappeared overnight".

Jesse Daniel Edwards

"Artists are often in the exploited class throughout the historical record. Mozart died penniless and alone, for god's sake...I said, I want to draft an email along the lines of 'Greetings Spotify and Apple...Unless you meet with a delegation of us to redraft the terms of our involvement, then we're pulling all our shit off one year from today.' Still, a rebel poet may dream..."

 Le Junk

"These platforms exist purely as a stinky bi-product of technology. Algorithms are homogenizing music taste. We should all connect with music in more meaningful ways, like going to live shows, to keep the diversity and oddities we value in music alive".

⚖️ THE NUANCED REALISTS

"It's broken, but we still need it"

Other musicians recognize the damage Spotify has done, but see no easy exit. The system may be broken, but for now, it's the only one we have.
 

 Whitehall

"I think we're too deep into streaming culture for it to be a good thing for it to completely disappear. The devaluing has already been done...That's something I think should have been fixed before Spotify got to be the main streaming giant, but now it seems too late. With that said, it is amazing that anyone can make a song, and it can be consumed by people who may not hear it otherwise.

 Steel Wool (Sean)

"It's frustrating to say, but probably worse. If Spotify disappeared, it would just be another race to the bottom. The current profit-sharing model is not at all sustainable, but if we better incentivize making great music, then I think more of it will be made!"

 Boy Jr.

"There's a lot of BS with the current streaming model...but I wouldn't want to take away the kind of opportunities that the ease of streaming has given to small artists. Music fans need to remember we have more agency than we think. Stop relying on the algorithm. Support artists more directly."

"Spotify or not, we’ll still be doing this"

For DIY bands and underground artists, Spotify is just one tool in a very patched-up survival kit. It’s not great, but they're not depending on it anyway.

 TeethOut (Ozone):

"Personally, I don't have a huge issue with Spotify. Bigger artists have every right to be frustrated, but in smaller punk scenes, it's just another tool. Every band I've ever been in gets a few hundred bucks from it a year, which helps. But the real money, what little there is, comes from live shows and selling good merch. If Spotify disappeared tomorrow, bands like ours would still be doing what we’re doing - we'd just burn a lot more CDs".

 FULL CIRCLE BOYS

"With the current streaming platforms, it's possible for new artists like us to be seen by audiences we never would have reached otherwise. Spotify might have happened inevitably. As musicians, we do it for the love of the game and won't let the climate stop us".

"It’s bigger than Spotify - the whole industry is changing"

Some artists zoomed out, reflecting on how the internet itself, not just Spotify, has shifted the very definition of what it means to be a musician.
 

 Sam Robbins

"Spotify is one thing, but the bigger question is: what even is the music industry anymore? There are 100,000+ songs uploaded to Spotify every day. The industry of radio domination and physical product is gone.

We've entered an era of patronage, of building smaller but loyal fanbases, not chasing viral fame. So if Spotify disappeared...maybe it would be better. But honestly, I don't really consider myself in the music industry. I’m in the audience industry, the patronage industry".

Dark Tropics

"It's essentially just another tech company. Unfortunately, most tech companies aren't going to have any artist's interest as their main priority. Which is really sad".

"Oh Great Spotify..."

Of course, not every response was a lament. One was... pure devotion.
 

ET Boys

 "Oh Great Spotify, I bow down to you. I will never speak ill of your name. I am eternally grateful for all you do for us. I am forever your humble servant".

Every religion needs its prophets.

So...Can the Music Industry Survive Without Spotify?

The real answer? It already is.

Every day, thousands of artists are building fan bases on TikTok, selling vinyl on Bandcamp, uploading music to YouTube, and hosting intimate Patreon shows. And every day, those same artists also upload their songs to Spotify, because they have to. Not because it sustains them, but because it sustains the illusion of being part of something bigger. But maybe we're nearing the breaking point of that illusion.

Spotify made music more accessible than ever. But it also helped normalize the idea that music should be free. And if there's one takeaway from these artists, it’s this: the next wave of the music industry won't come from a boardroom. It'll come from the musicians who dare to imagine something better.

What do you think a post-Spotify music world should look like?

Could you survive, or even thrive, without Spotify? Would you pull your music tomorrow if it meant real change? Let's talk!

Tag us @musicngear and share your thoughts. Or email us your take for a possible feature in Part 2 of this series.

About Chris Roditis

Chris Roditis has been an active musician since 1995 in various bands and projects across a variety of genres ranging from acoustic, electronic to nu metal, british rock and trip hop. He has extensive experience as a mixing engineer and producer and has built recording studios for most of the projects he has been involved with. His passion for music steered his entrepreneurial skills into founding MusicNGear in 2012.

Contact Chris Roditis at chrisroditis@musicngear.com

LinkedInTwitterFacebookInstagram