Music isn't just sound anymore. It’s a data point, a 15-second hook, and sometimes, if we're lucky, an actual vibe that lasts more than a week. If you’ve ever felt like every song on the radio sounds exactly the same, you aren't imagining things. There’s a massive tug-of-war happening behind the scenes. On one side, you have the forces trying to keep the soul of the industry alive, and on the other, you have the cold, hard mechanics of the attention economy. Understanding the friends and enemies of modern music is basically the only way to make sense of why your favorite indie band just broke up while a TikTok influencer has a #1 hit.
It’s messy. It’s loud. And honestly, it’s kinda depressing if you look too closely at the numbers. But there is hope if you know where to look.
The Algorithmic Overlords: Friend or Foe?
Let’s talk about the giant green elephant in the room: Spotify. Algorithms are the ultimate double-edged sword when we talk about the friends and enemies of modern music. On the "friend" side, the discovery engine is a miracle. Back in the 90s, if you lived in a small town, you were at the mercy of whatever the local record store clerk decided to stock. Now, a kid in rural Nebraska can discover Mongolian folk-metal because a computer program noticed they liked cello music. That is objectively cool.
But there’s a dark side. The algorithm has created a "skip culture" that is fundamentally changing how songs are written. If a listener skips your track in the first 30 seconds, the algorithm flags it as "bad" and stops showing it to people. Because of this, songwriters are literally cutting out intros. You’ve probably noticed it. Songs just... start. No buildup. No mood setting. Just a chorus or a high-energy hook right out of the gate. Is the algorithm a friend? Sure, it gets you heard. But it’s an enemy to the concept of a "slow burn."
Industry experts like Damon Krukowski (from the band Galaxie 500) have been vocal about how this digital ecosystem devalues the actual art. When music is treated like "content" or "inventory," the emotional connection starts to fray. We’re consuming more music than ever, yet we’re arguably valuing it less. It’s a weird paradox.
TikTok: The Great Disruptor
TikTok is the chaos factor. It’s the ultimate "frenemy." For a new artist, TikTok is the only place where you can go from zero to a million streams overnight without a record label. That makes it a massive friend to the independent creator. Look at someone like PinkPantheress or Lil Nas X. They didn't need a boardroom of 50-year-old men in suits to tell them they were stars; they just needed a catchy 15-second clip and a community that cared.
💡 You might also like: Actor Most Academy Awards: The Record Nobody Is Breaking Anytime Soon
The problem? TikTok demands "moments," not necessarily good songs.
Labels are now literally pressuring their legacy artists to "make a viral moment." Halsey and Florence Welch have both posted about the frustration of being told they can’t release music until they have a trending video to back it up. This makes TikTok a primary enemy to the creative process for anyone who doesn't want to be a full-time content creator. If you’re a brilliant songwriter but you’re awkward on camera, the modern music industry basically doesn’t have a seat for you at the table anymore. That’s a tragedy.
The Death of the Album?
People aren't really listening to albums as cohesive stories anymore. We listen to "vibes." This shift in consumption is a major enemy to the traditional format of the LP. When's the last time you sat down and listened to a 12-track record from start to finish without checking your phone?
- Playlists have replaced albums. Most people just hit "Shuffle" on a "Chill Lo-Fi" or "Workout" mix.
- Shortened attention spans. The average song length has dropped by nearly a minute over the last 20 years.
- Revenue models. Artists get paid per stream. Two 2-minute songs earn more than one 4-minute song. The math is simple, and it’s killing the epic 7-minute rock ballad.
The Real Friends: The Return of Vinyl and Direct Support
If you want to find the true friends and enemies of modern music, look at who is actually putting money in an artist’s pocket. It isn't the streaming services. Spotify pays roughly $0.003 to $0.005 per stream. You do the math. An artist needs hundreds of thousands of streams just to pay rent for a month.
The real friends are the platforms that cut out the middleman. Bandcamp is the gold standard here. On "Bandcamp Fridays," the platform waives its revenue share, meaning almost 100% of the money goes to the musician. This is how indie music survives. Then there’s the vinyl resurgence. It’s not just for hipsters; it’s a vital lifeline. Selling one $30 vinyl record often nets an artist more profit than a million streams on a free tier of a streaming app.
📖 Related: Ace of Base All That She Wants: Why This Dark Reggae-Pop Hit Still Haunts Us
- Direct-to-fan sales: Buying a shirt at a show is the most "friendly" thing you can do.
- Patreon and Substack: Musicians are becoming "creators" who sell access to their process, not just the finished product.
- Small venues: Local bars and clubs are the frontline. They’re struggling with rising insurance costs and corporate buyouts by giants like Live Nation, but they remain the only place where true musical communities are built.
AI: The Newest Enemy (Or Is It?)
AI is the newest player in the friends and enemies of modern music saga. It’s terrifying. We’ve already seen "Ghostwriter777" use AI to mimic Drake and The Weeknd, creating a song that sounded so real it fooled millions. For established artists, this is an existential threat to their likeness and their livelihood. If a machine can churn out a "new" Beatles song in four seconds, what happens to the value of human labor?
But some artists are leaning in. Holly Herndon, a pioneer in this space, created a digital twin of her voice called "Holly+" that anyone can use to create music, provided she gets a cut of the profits. Grimes did something similar. They see AI as a collaborator, a new instrument that expands what a human can do.
The real "enemy" part of AI isn't the tech itself—it's the potential for corporations to use it to avoid paying humans altogether. Why hire a composer for a movie trailer when you can prompt an AI to make "epic cinematic orchestral music" for free? That’s where the battle lines are being drawn. The US Copyright Office is currently swamped with cases trying to figure out if AI-generated art can even be protected. It’s a mess.
Ticketmaster and the "Convenience" Tax
We have to talk about Live Nation and Ticketmaster. For most fans, they are the undisputed #1 enemy. Dynamic pricing—where ticket costs fluctuate based on demand—has made seeing a major artist like Taylor Swift or Bruce Springsteen a luxury experience reserved for the wealthy. When a "nosebleed" seat costs $400 because a bot bought all the tickets and the platform’s algorithm hiked the price, the relationship between the fan and the artist is broken.
Robert Smith of The Cure famously fought back against this, forcing Ticketmaster to issue refunds for "unduly high" fees. He proved it’s possible to be a "friend" to the fans, but he’s one of the few with enough leverage to pull it off. For most mid-tier bands, they are stuck in a system that gouges their audience while they barely break even on the road due to the skyrocketing cost of gas, hotels, and tour buses.
👉 See also: '03 Bonnie and Clyde: What Most People Get Wrong About Jay-Z and Beyoncé
Why the Human Element Still Matters
Despite all the "enemies," music isn't dying. It’s just evolving into something more fragmented. The friends and enemies of modern music are constantly shifting roles. A label that was an enemy ten years ago might be the only reason an artist can afford a high-budget music video today. A social media platform that ruins attention spans might be the only way a kid in Jakarta gets heard in New York.
What matters is the "why." People still need music to process grief, celebrate love, and feel less alone. As long as that need exists, there will be "friends" who find ways to facilitate it.
How to Be a Friend to Modern Music
If you're tired of the "enemies" winning, you actually have quite a bit of power. It doesn't take much to shift the needle.
- Buy the merch. Seriously. That $35 hoodie is worth more to a touring band than your entire year of streaming their discography.
- Go to the show, but buy the ticket early. Pre-sales help venues and promoters know a show is viable, which prevents cancellations.
- Engage with the "un-algorithmic." Use sites like Pitchfork, Stereogum, or local college radio stations to find music that hasn't been pre-filtered by a computer.
- Follow artists on mailing lists. Social media algorithms often hide posts from the people you actually follow unless the artist pays to "boost" them. A direct email is the only guaranteed way to stay connected.
- Share music like we used to. Send a link to a friend. Make a "mixtape" (playlist) for someone. Personal recommendation is the ultimate "friend" to a musician because it builds a loyal fanbase rather than a temporary "hit."
The future of music is going to be a battle between the convenience of the machine and the soul of the creator. It’s a lopsided fight, but the human side has something the machines don't: the ability to actually feel the beat. If we want to keep the "friends" in the lead, we have to be intentional about where we spend our time and our money. Music isn't free, even if the apps make it feel that way. It costs time, effort, and a whole lot of heartbreak to produce. The least we can do is pay attention.
Stop just "consuming content." Start listening again. The difference is huge.
Practical Next Steps for the Modern Listener
- Check your Spotify Wrapped (or equivalent) and pick your top three most-listened-to independent artists. Go to their official websites and see if they have a physical store.
- Download the Bandcamp app. Spend $10 on an album this Friday. You’ll get high-quality files and the satisfaction of knowing you just bought that artist a sandwich.
- Find a local independent venue in your city. Look at their calendar for next month. Pick a band you’ve never heard of and go see them for $15. It might be terrible, or it might be your new favorite band. Either way, you’re supporting the ecosystem.
- Turn off "Autoplay" on your streaming service. Force yourself to choose what you want to hear next rather than letting the algorithm dictate your taste. It’s a small act of rebellion that actually helps retrain your brain to value individual pieces of work.