So, I`ve been following a guy on Twitter/X/Linked In for a good while now, by the name of Rob Abelow, and to cut a very long story short, we both have an interest on where we think and hope the music business in general is headed. In some areas we both agree quite heavily, and some we are polar opposites. Which is good. But mainly we deffo are on the same wavelength.

Where we do agree, our thoughts do seem to be very similar. Rob also sees a future where fan interactivity within an artists domain is the norm, and interactions between fan and artist is more pronounced, and open to exploration. He knows all the numbers the same as the labels and artists do, and is very aware of changing trends over time, and like any frontrunner, is well on top of things even before news makes the mainstream.

Well, recently, some news did make the mainstream which you may want to Google and fill yourself in on, but in a nutshell, it seem Spotify are making plans, not only for Nigel, but for everybody, with a plan to start letting users modify songs on their platform. You might want to read that again as it sinks in ! Spotify are going to let folk mess about with artist creations (songs, to be clear), so YOU can make your own versions, which Ive already seen described as remixes and mash-ups, which you can then share with others (within the platform).

Does that not sound a big deal? Does to me. So you can see why the news is being brought.

Initially it seems as though there will be a fee involved (unsurprisingly) which will unlock the new features, some of which I daresay are still in the works, but highlighted in most articles Ive read about this subject, the new features Spotify are proposing include the capabilities to “remix” a song somehow, and that function will include an option to [quote] “speed up or slow down any song, pitch shift it, or tweak it, and add to your playlists”.

OK, so far so good, but things could get waaaaay better, because Rob doesnt really seem to be too aware of the stems side of things as yet, which I would say could be the golden goose of fan interactivity. The stems “scene” and the funtionality that stems could bring into the artist/fan relationship Rob believes in so much, is still relatively untapped. That is where things could get really interesting. Obviously, this will take time to filter down to the mainstream listener, but once again it leaves an open door for the labels and artists to vigourously explore the power of stems, and their related income streams for both label and artist, which hopefully will grow to replace incomes which are already declining in certain areas, deets of which, I`ll leave alone, because thats another page and a half you dont need to read.

Best leave it there with the news, or there will be that other page and a half to read thru either way, but as you can probably gather, it looks like some major changes are on the way in regards to how we consume music. Odds are we wont be consumers as such for much longer, we are all going to become “creators”. Yay.

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Spotify Stem Player