I’ve been feeling ranty these past few weeks.
Why is “ranty” not an appropriate adjective as well?

One of the recent topics was being more conscious and intentional with how I support artists.
There’s no need for me to elaborate too much on why we need to spend money on art.
In short, it supports the culture we like and feeds us back, making us better humans.

Moving money earned from a job towards anything artistic or cultural is a socially powerful move, if done right.
For years I spent money on art mindlessly.
I funneled it back to an evil conglomerate pocketing its vast majority for the better health of their shareholders.

Yes, when I picture this devil, I see Spotify. I finally left the platform back in 2023, after about a decade of use.
I remember having this discussion with a friend after deleting my account, justifying the choice.
I felt like I was consuming music like fast food.
Not caring really what I was listening to as long as it sounded good, sometimes not even knowing who the artist was, as long as the playlist curator (a disguised paid ad) did its job right.
In a very French analogy, I was drinking wine without even looking at the label, blasphemous.

Leaving made me reevaluate how to spend that newfound money.
I was more deliberate about buying an album, listening to it like I used to when I was younger, front to back, no skips, multiple times.
I had lost the ability to listen to everything, and so I had to listen right.

One thing happened naturally: I was feeling more hesitant to support bigger artists.
I would rather not pay those that have made it.
I would search for those starting out, juggling their job and art.
They can’t fully live from their craft yet, and I believe they deserve more support.

This felt very hipsterish, thinking about it, but in a way, it also felt more ethical.
Helping artists on their first steps is more valuable to me. 
It brings more variety and thus a more interesting scene.

I realize it might be such an obvious take for someone having been doing this for a while.
It’s a testament to how messed up normie art consumption is.
The bigger artists grow even bigger, mimicking the oligopolies owning them.

They control what is shoved to the masses, driving even more eyes to those seen enough.
Repeating what works, hoping from trend to trend until something or someone shinier pops up.
All that ends up on an easy access $10.99/mo easy subscription streamlined to pay the artists the least possible.

I tried daydreaming about the norm flipping to support only the smallest acts.
More of them would be able to develop to reach self-sustainability.
Bigger artists wouldn’t get too big (or boring also).

Art would get better, more people would see it is a viable lifestyle.
The so called pie would get bigger and so would its slices.
The floor would be raised.

A higher floor is nice.