The eternal quest for the perfect music streaming service hits another dead end after a disappointing look under the hood at Subvert. Before we get into why, let me list a few things about what we need in the perfect music streaming service, in no particular order.
First, the music streaming service needs to stream music. Does that seem too obvious? It’s not to some people – more on that later.
Second, the service should have good cross-platform functionality so you can buy a digital record via your desktop, stream it via your smartphone, etc., and not experience any hiccups.
Third, the user interface should be easy, obvious, pretty, all those good things.
Fourth, the service should be free or as low-cost as possible. Dare to dream of a government-subsidized streaming platform that would function as permanent infrastructural support for musicians. Why not? Here’s where I get a chortling chorus of “economic realists” telling me that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. These people have not experienced much of life. There are free lunches all over the place. The real question is who gets the lunch and whether it’s worth someone else’s dollar to make it free. As Doge wreaks its petty and cruel havoc in pursuit of a world that nobody desires except Elon Musk’s AI sexbot, I’m reminded again that there are a lot of “free lunches” worth paying for.
Fifth, artists should be paid fairly for their work.
Does that sound impossible? Barring the “government-subsidized” aspect, we pretty much had all five features with Bandcamp before its acquisition by Epic Games in 2022. The music service offered stable streaming with cross-platform functionality and a clean interface. The service was free for listeners, and artists got paid higher percentages than any other major platform on sales of their music. Plus, there was a fantastic editorial wing that spotlighted artists with credible music journalism. It was a great model that attracted a large and loyal user base.
Then Bandcamp got sold to Epic. Then sold again to Songtradr. In the acquisition shuffle a lot of the most attractive features of the site, including its editorial wing, got whittled down, diluted or disappeared altogether.
I wasn’t alone in mourning its decline or wondering what comes next. Ilya S. of IHeartNoise reminded me about a blog post he wrote in 2023, “Rants // Preparing for Post-Bandcamp World.” After working through a few stages of grief, Ilya mentions some possible alternatives such as Ampwall. Thanks also to the New England Music Directory for suggesting Resonate. Maybe some of these pan out?
Don’t hold your breath on Subvert, though …
I admit it – I’m a sucker for pretty advertising. And if you combine pretty ads with the idealistic sloganeering of leftist politics, I’m hooked. Subvert advertised itself as “the next Bandcamp,” collectively owned and controlled on a co-op model.
What does it cost to launch and maintain a music streaming service? It’s not nothing, but it’s not like you’re sending someone to the moon either. A nonprofit organization could meet the challenge to build and maintain a streaming service with the basic costs being paid by the co-op membership fees. If this is what Subvert was planning to deliver, sign me up.
Sounds great, what’s the catch?
Subvert doesn’t stream music! If you think I’m a big dummy for missing that detail, in my defense, it was buried in the fine print (and I couldn’t find it again, by the way, when I returned – did it get buried even deeper?).
When I hear that someone is building “the next Bandcamp,” I think of one thing: streaming. And I suspect that a lot of people who already signed up for membership based on slick advertising and deceptive slogans will be disappointed when all they get in return is a … zine.
That’s not quite fair. I spoke with Subvert founder Austin Robey, who seemed excited about the online marketplace aspect of his venture, projected to launch this summer. Musicians will have a platform to sell their music, if such a thing was wanting. But without the streaming functionality, Subvert’s campaign to paint itself as “the next Bandcamp” feels like a grift. Caveat co-op member.
Hit this
Tuesday: The Atlas Moth, Oriska (Middle East, Cambridge)
Stoner, sludge, doom, black, post. There are a lot of ways to qualify “metal” as a genre. This bill, featuring two bands on tour together, will introduce you to a bunch. Chicago’s The Atlas Moth brings a relentless attack, filled with chugging guitars and apocalyptic war cries. Oriska hails from North Dakota (shout out to the Flickertail State!), and they match the other band’s intensity blow for blow on their self-titled LP, except for a few quiet moments at the start of the album when a cello solo tricks you into thinking that the balls-to-the-wall metal assault isn’t coming. But it’s coming. Does the classical instrument make it on tour or get left at home in Fargo?
Wednesday: Young Widows, Rid Of Me, Kal Marks (Crystal Ballroom, Somerville)
Louisville’s Young Widows are taking their new album “Power Sucker” on the road. They’re a heavy post-hardcore band bringing two heavy bands in support to Crystal Ballroom. One of the openers, Kal Marks, you might have heard of because they used to be locals and, last I heard, still live a stone’s throw away. The remaining band is Rid Of Me, a gloomy and combustible quartet of noise punkers out of Philadelphia. Young Widows are the headliner, of course, but this is a strong middle-class bill with value throughout the lineup. And if you can’t purchase that value in a single payment, Ticketmaster offers you three financing options: Instant Decision (“No long forms. Get an instant online loan approval decision.”), Pay In 4 (“Split your purchase into 4 interest-free payments.”), and Monthly Financing (“Pay over 6 or 12 months through direct financing.”). Thanks?
June 5: Michael Figge Group (The Mad Monkfish, Cambridge)
Come see the next generation of jazz musicians find their form. Bassist Michael Figge leads a sextet at the Mad Monkfish, which has made itself a friend of upwardly mobile musicians with a variety of jam sessions that find new ways to get fresh faces on stage. If you want a front seat for real beautiful chaos, stop by late night for Andy Voelker’s After Hours, an open mic jam on Fridays. Michael Figge Group, on the other hand, will be a more focused affair, starting earlier at 7 p.m. Thursday. And if you can’t make it in person, the sushi-cum-jazz club has got you covered with live online streams.
Live: Ward Hayden and the Outliers at Lizard Lounge
There’s never a bad time to pay homage to Bruce Springsteen, but the moment felt particularly ripe as Ward Hayden and the Outliers debuted their new covers album “Little by Little” at the Lizard Lounge last Thursday. The band gave an alt country spin to the Americana classics, while Hayden soft-pedaled the overt political commentary that’s getting the Boss headlines lately.
By the way, if you think there’s not a country crowd in Cambridge, you haven’t been to a Ward Hayden show. The red-light-drenched subterranean dive on the outskirts of Harvard Square was filled to the 10-gallon brim with folks two-stepping in the aisles.
Like Springsteen, Hayden is a natural storyteller, and he uses small town narratives to dig up deeper truths about life and the living of it. In Hayden’s case the small town is Scituate, his childhood hometown, “a drinking town with a fishing problem.”
Hayden called leaving Scituate his “greatest achievement” in one breath and confessed he had since moved back with his wife in the next. The reversal earned a round of knowing laughter from the crowd, acknowledging the strange ways the wheel of fate can treat us, as the band launched into the original “South Shore” about that very same homecoming.
Country strumming chanteuse Charlie Marie opened. She might be living out her own “greatest achievement” in Nashville these days, though she’s originally from Rhode Island. Will the strange wheel of fate bring Marie back around one day to her own South Shore epiphany?
Michael Gutierrez is an author, educator, activist and editor-in-chief at Hump Day News.
A stronger
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