Skip Spotify? — Artists Are Getting Creative With Album Release Strategies

Artists are getting creative with their album release strategies, sometimes foregoing streaming services altogether.

For approximately 99% of artists, streaming doesn’t pay. Unless you’re Taylor Swift or The Weeknd, chances are that you’re not making beaucoup bucks on Spotify streams.

But artists have mostly just opted to grin and bear it; what choice do they have? If you forego streaming services altogether, no one but your most dedicated fans will know you’ve released any music.

Some artists are trying new tactics, even if they still simultaneously release their music on Spotify, or bring their music to streaming services at a later date. For example, Ghetts and Rude Kid just confirmed their new album Forbidden Frequencies will be released on a new format. And Pitchfork’s Album of the Year for 2024 isn’t even on streaming platforms.

Out this week, Ghetts and Rude Kid’s new collaborative album will be available as a specially designed hardware player, released at a trio of shows on December 10, 11, and 12 at London’s Basing House. The album will available to attendees of these shows on a card fans can tap on their smartphones to access.

“Myself and Rude Kid want to release this in [a] totally unique and original way,” says Ghetts. “We firmly believe that music is art and should be respected and valued in the way art in a gallery is — this is our attempt to fearlessly push towards that goal. Our work has different layers, meanings, and depth to it, and we don’t cut corners.”

Rude Kid adds, “The intention has always been to make music that will last forever! When me and G link, we do exactly that.”

Pitchfork wasn’t the only outlet to praise Cindy Lee’s Diamond Jubilee, a 32-track opus that Uproxx called the “feel-good indie rock story of the year.” Lee, the alter ego of North Carolina-based songwriter, guitarist, and drag performer, self-released the album on March 29 without putting it on any streaming service and without hardly any traditional marketing, distribution, or PR.

They first shared Diamond Jubilee on YouTube and made it available through a homemade GeoCities site, where users could opt to pay $30 CAD (Lee is originally from Calgary). The album made its way to fan sales sites like Rough Trade and Bandcamp, with streamable samples.

It’s not like artists going directly to their fans is a new concept — the practice is older than streaming. But bypassing streaming services entirely for a release in 2024 is an extremely new gamble.

Some artists have been drip-releasing their music for years. Artists like Russ and The Chainsmokers release their tracks one at a time to give fans a chance to enjoy them, rather than dropping a whole album all at once that most listeners won’t listen to all the way through.

But artists appealing directly to their fans and bypassing Spotify entirely might become increasingly trendy in 2025. Music streaming platforms are already under fire for their low payout, bundling, and more. Moreover, until very recently, most do not provide musicians with a direct portal to interact with their fans.

More artists taking matters into their own hands might be the most effective strategy.