As digital platforms evolve, they often fall victim to their own greed. ‘Enshittification’, a term coined by Cory Doctorow (2024), details this process – outlining an online platform’s decline from a user-centric entity to a profit-driven behemoth. In Doctorow’s own words, this process is as follows :
“First, platforms are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.” (Doctorow, 2024).
While applicable to a variety of platforms, ‘enshittification’ has become increasingly apparent within the contemporary digital music scene. Notably, Spotify and Apple Music – the streaming duopoly responsible for nearly 50% of online listening (Mulligan, 2024) – have begun exhibiting signs of ‘enshittification’. These platforms, once regarded as bastions of the modern music space, have since been re-characterised – exploiting listeners, artists and business partners alike, for their own gain.
Following Docotorow’s framework, this paper outlines Spotify and Apple Music’s descent into enshittification – highlighting the systemic issues of the platforms, the unfair treatment of their communities, and why understanding enshittification is crucial to preserving the integrity of the modern music industry.
The Rise of Digital Music Platforms
The emergence of digital music platforms mirrors that of Doctorow’s framework. Simply put, ‘First, platforms are good to their users’. This was glaringly obvious in both the case of modern streaming giants and the wider industry – with digital formats emerging as a result of the superior listening experience they provided to users.
The global transition from physical to digital formats in the late 1990’s (IFPI, 2023) highlights this, with early online platforms facilitating an era of unparalleled music accessibility. Pioneering platforms, such as iTunes and Napster, laid the groundwork for the online revolution, with Apple’s now infamous tagline ‘1000 songs in your pocket’ epitomising the collective adoption of online listening.
This movement was only fueled further with the advent of streaming platforms. By moving to a subscription model, platforms were able to provide users with a seemingly unending stream of content, for as little as 10 dollars a month (Miller, 2011). Not only this, but these platforms integrated contemporary technologies in a way never seen before. Between updated user interfaces, recommender systems, distribution models and social connectivity means – it was clear music platforms had the user experience at the forefront of their vision.
As Doctorow (2023) suggests, “Given enough surplus, end-users will proceed to lock themselves into a platform.” and this is precisely what happened. By 2023, over 85% of US music listening and distribution was done through streaming platforms, an exponential increase from the 7% seen in 2010. (Friedlander, 2023).
It’s clear that, at first, not only were these platforms ‘good to their users’ but provided such a superior listening experience that audiences effectively ditched all other mainstream sources of music in their favour.
The Downfall of the User Experience
However, it is not a platform being ‘good’ that characterises enshittification. Rather, it is the opposite. Per Doctorow (2024), ‘Then, (platforms) abuse their users to make things better for their business customers’. Unfortunately, this abuse has become glaringly apparent within the last decade, with Spotify and Apple Music exploiting listeners to heighten the value of both traditional business customers and artists alike.
Traditional business partners – advertising agencies – were perhaps the earliest to take advantage, making use of the endless supply of user data, and the increasingly invasive adspace the platforms provided. 2015 saw Spotify acquire Echo Nest, a music intelligence firm specialising in ‘emotional surveillance’ – that is, using a person’s listening history to determine their current mood. This is data that can be (and is) sold to advertisers (Pelly, 2019). By tracking unknowing customers’ listening habits, Spotify was able to provide value to their advertisers in a way no other platform could – allowing companies to advertise to individuals based on their current emotional state (Schlagenhauf, 2020). Apple went down a similar path, integrating their absurd amounts of user data into their deeper ecosystem, thus establishing a symbiotic relationship between Apple’s other business ventures and the Apple Music platform (Middelbeck, 2015).
As mentioned, artists also took advantage of the platforms, though perhaps not to the detriment of the listener. Rather, Apple and Spotify’s huge user-bases allowed independent artists to reach audiences like never before. Creators flocked to the platforms to publish their new music and connect with listeners, all under the guise of getting paid for their efforts.
Although not as explicitly as the initial enticement of their users, it’s evident that these platforms (for a time) prioritised their business partners. In the same way that Spotify and Apple Music ‘locked in’ their users, so too did they manage to trap their business partners – solidifying their dominance in the market and undergoing the second stage of enshittification.
The Exploitation of Business Customers
Which brings us to the third, and most influential, stage. ‘Then (platforms) abuse those business customers, to claw back the value for themselves’. (Doctorow, 2024) With such an incredible market share, limited viable alternatives, a lack of consumer regulation, and a gargantuan user base – this was perhaps the easiest step – with both Spotify and Apple Music prioritising their own interests at the expense of their artists and business partners alike.
Exploitation of the Artists
With a lack of regulation within the industry, Spotify and Apple Music have been able to manipulate their revenue-sharing schemes with little to no pushback. Spotify, for instance, pays a mere 0.003 cents per stream (Swanson, 2013), leaving artists – especially independent ones – at a severe disadvantage. Despite being the driving force behind these platforms, artists now face a dilemma: either reach the vast audiences these platforms offer and receive minimal to no financial compensation, or opt for a competing platform with fewer users, making it harder to appeal to the majority of listeners. All the while, both Spotify and Apple Music have reported record-breaking profits (Palmer, 2024) – highlighting not only the inability of artists to fight back, but the platforms’ relentless pursuit of profits at the expense of the very artists who fueled their success.
Exploitation of Advertisers and Traditional Business Customers
Traditional advertisers are not safe either. Much akin to the artists, these business partners often find themselves at the mercy of Spotify and Apple Music’s unchecked power dynamic. Be it in the artificial inflation of advertisement pricing (Ahmadi et al., 2023), complaints about the platforms’ ineffective ad targeting approaches (Mähler and Vonderau, 2017), or rather the platforms’ continuous prioritisation their own sponsored content (Sletten, 2021), both Spotify and Apple Music have demonstrated a disregard for the well-being of their business partners, further diminishing the visibility and influence of these agencies.
Over the past half-decade, it’s become increasingly evident that both Apple Music and Spotify have ‘clawed back their value’, using their previous business strategies as stepping stones to reap their rewards and maximise profits.
An Uncertain Future & Potential Downfall
Then, the final stage. ‘They die’ (Doctorow, 2024). It is here we discover Spotify and Apple Music have not yet fully undergone the process of enshittification, with both platforms seeing a notable uptick in users over 2023 (Mulligan, 2023). Rather, they exist somewhere between the third and final stages. In Doctorow’s own words
“(The platform) wants to withdraw all available surplus, and leave just enough residual value… to keep users stuck to each other, and business customers stuck to users… so that every penny is drawn out” (Doctorow, 2024)
This accurately describes the position Spotify and Apple Music find themselves in. It’s clear their user bases are growing tired of their constant exploitation – whether in the form of recurring protests and unionisation (Mason, 2020), a revitalisation in both music piracy and physical music purchasing (IFPI, 2023) or rather an increase in artists removing their music from the platforms entirely (Kaufman, 2022). Both listeners and artists are sick of these platforms, however their sheer encapsulation of the market makes moving impossible. Individuals are so locked into these platforms that swapping would either; remove their ability to listen to their favourite artists or remove their only method of gaining a fanbase and starting a career.
Not only this but there exists no clear alternatives for users looking to switch. Where Myspace had Facebook – the music industry has nowhere to run. Rather, the industry may require a complete overhaul of the current subscription model before Spotify and Apple Music meet their demise.
Evidently, while enshittification has run its course within major streaming platforms, the lack of viable alternatives that are both easy to swap to and globally used, means that both listeners and artists alike would rather put up with being exploited than switch to another platform. And, while this may change in the future, currently Spotify and Apple Music are anything but ‘dead’.
Conclusion
Regardless of their fate, it’s abundantly clear that Doctorow’s enshittification framework applies to modern digital music platforms. Not only have Spotify and Apple Music transformed into profit-driven behemoths, but have done so by exploiting both their subscriber-bases and business partners for their own gain. Truly, the pervasive nature of the ‘enshittocene’, underscores the need for a comprehensive industry reform. Only by confronting these platforms’ enshittification head-on, can we look to preserve the digital music scene, creating a thriving ecosystem that benefits users, artists and the industry as a whole.
References
Ahmadi, I., Abou Nabout, N., Skiera, B., Maleki, E. and Fladenhofer, J. (2023). Overwhelming targeting options: Selecting audience segments for online advertising. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 41(1).
Doctorow, C. (2023). The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok. [online] Wired. Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-platforms-cory-doctorow/.
Doctorow, C. (2024). My McLuhan lecture on enshittification. [online] Pluralistic. Available at: https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/30/go-nuts-meine-kerle/#ich-bin-ein-bratapfel.
Friedlander, J. (2023). Year-end 2019 RIAA Music Revenues Report. The Recording Industry Association of America. pp.1–5.
IFPI (2023). Global Music Report 2023 – State of the Industry. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
Kaufman, G. (2022). Musicians Vs. Spotify: Artists Who Have Joined Neil Young in Removing Their Music. [online] Billboard. Available at: https://www.billboard.com/lists/musicians-who-left-spotify-neil-young-removed-music
Mähler, R. and Vonderau, P. (2017). Studying Ad Targeting with Digital Methods: The Case of Spotify. Culture Unbound, 9(2), pp.212–221.
Mason, A. (2020). A New Musicians’ Union Wants Spotify To Pay Up. [online] Wbur. Available at: https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/11/23/musicians-union-spotify-to-pay-up.
Middelbeck , D. (2015). Apple Music – Locking Customers In Through Network Effects. Digital Innovation and Transformation – MBA Student Perspectives, Harvard.
Miller, P. (2011). Spotify launching in the US at 8AM tomorrow, open to all pre-registered users. [online] The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2011/07/13/spotify-launching-8am-tomorrow-open-pre-registered-users
Mulligan, M (2024.) MIDiA – Music Subscription Services Market Shares. MIDia Research
Palmer, T. (2024). Music Streaming Services Are Getting Record Amounts of Money. [online] CNET. Available at: https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/music-streaming-services-are-getting-record-amounts-of-money/
Pelly, L. (2019). Big Mood Machine – Spotify pursues emotional surveillance for global profit. [online] The Baffler. Available at: https://thebaffler.com/downstream/big-mood-machine-pelly.
Schlagenhauf, W. (2020). Spotify turns our emotions into data, and then profits off of them. [online] The Hustle. Available at: https://thehustle.co/spotify-turns-emotions-into-data
Sletten, R. (2021). Spotify: Strategic Plan and Analysis . [Thesis] Available at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1346&context=utpp.
Swanson, K. (2013). A case study on Spotify: exploring perceptions of the music streaming service. MEIEA Journal, 13(1).
