The Privilege of Listening: Why Friction Matters

I grew up deep in a small town situated in guts of Central Russia. The only way to discover new music were a few street vendors who set up huge shelves full of cassettes. I had a whole ritual: I’d save up my allowance, trek over there on foot on the weekend, pick out an album and rush home po pop it into the player and sit next to it listening to the whole thing. The sheer effort I exerted to get that cassette were adding so much depth to the experience of the music. You felt delighted to get it and sometimes disappointed due to some tracks were not great and sometimes amazed that you discovered something new and now you’ve got it to share with other music minded fellas. Sure, sometimes you’d buy an album to realize it wasn’t really your cup of tea but honestly? That risk was just part of the game.

Compare that to now. Streaming platforms have essentially destroyed that dynamic. Well it’s not all on them, but they contributed a lot. Now that you have every track in history available in seconds, the value has hit rock bottom. Algorithm which was supposed to help you to discover new music now suggests tracks that you less likely stop listening and quit the website. Music has been relegated to mere background noise which is on while you commute, work or workout. I can’t remember last time I listened to music intentionally. Music became worthless as it costs artists nothing to produce. It can’t be true. Speaking of money I always have been troubled by how unfair it is in relation to artists who are being paid so little for their work by the platforms.

So, how do we fix this? Start bying music again. It brings back that sense of ownership. When I drop $10 on an album that financial “pain” resurrects the urge to actually listen to it. I’ve started setting a monthly budget specifically for this. I collect information of what albums have been released or maybe something I discovered, then I go to a music selling platform to explore what other users currently buy and then get whatever I’ve decided to. The only thing’s left is to find some free time to listen to it enjoying experience. Everyone are happy- listeners get award for efforts they committed, artists get money for work they’ve done. Even without a physical CD the act of purchasing creates a mental shift.

Of course it became much more dificult to do things we used to do or like to do nowadays. But it’s still possible. We just need to learn to be conscious about what’s going on. sif something slips into your life with zero friction it’s probably not serviyou you but it’s serving someone who wants to make money using your habits or attention. We have to actively resist the path of least resistance fo find value in simple things again.