some thoughts on @jamesblake 's vault yes, it's like patreon, but a bit more concise. I personally struggled with keeping up with the messaging/newslettering of patreon, while sometimes I'd just rather share some music and let that be that. this product isn't for everybody. one of the music industry fallacies is that everything must be mass market. there's not some expectation that you'll subscribe to every artist you follow, only the ones that matter to you that much. that's totally ok. even if you capture 1-5% of your audience, that's such a boost compared to current streaming rates. i have zero issues with this option existing in the market, especially if it gets artists paid. perhaps if i have any critique is that it should be leaning into digital scarcity and collectibles which is still a very unexplored area and often misunderstood in the context of the wider ecosystem, especially by fans. again, these are not mass market projects. this is hyper niche and should be framed that way. i think his initial tweet struck a nerve because we all inherently understand that this industry is fundamentally broken. Is this a part of the solution? perhaps, but it's not the full picture and I think any perceived backlash is because people expected a complete solution in just a few days (lol). some of us have been working on this for a decade now. the solution is complex and i'm increasingly of the belief that the only option moving forward is the complete re-write of the underlying infrastructure with open-source networks. replacing institutions with code. it's not unions, it's not charging more for spotify (that would help tho), it's the complete dismantling of the existing power structures that will ultimately set us free. not even to their detriment, to their benefit because they continually shoot themselves in the foot to the detriment of artists and keep us in this 40bil chokehold, which should be a 400bil dollar industry. the most pervasive, relevant and important art form that human kind has to offer is worth 1/4th of McDonalds.

i allow myself one political tweet a year and this is it. do you find yourself getting more frustrated? did the other side say something outrageous? are you mad enough yet? do you feel compelled to tell others how the other side is wrong? do you feel like the future of our country depends on the outcome of this election? are you worried about X, Y or Z? do you feel like you need to correct other people's views? do you feel compelled to tell your friends about X policy? do you feel compelled to silence the other side because they're clearly wrong? do you feel compelled to give money to X person? every bit counts, right? grassroots, or whatever that means. surely that person can help if I give them money. do you feel that you are right? is the issue you care about deeply a real issue? or is it simply a point of division used to play you against the other side, entrenching your personal viewpoint further and further away from anything sensible because when the stakes are this high, the other side must be stopped at all cost, beyond all logic. i guess it's fine to believe in something, but it also feels pretty important to recognize how the political machine manipulates you into their camp and that may be the only thing that is truly bipartisan. if we're incapable of agreeing on anything and unable to understand a different point of view, that's the actual loss. have an opinion, but actually have it, instead of being spoon-fed the "right" opinion. perhaps i'm a bit cynical, but i don't believe any side actually cares about issues. it's theater, a sport where the outcome is only one thing, power over others. i will now retreat to my apolitical cocoon. k bye👋