In a time when Music sales continue to shrink, streaming has become the de facto saviour of the music industry. But a lot of artists are resisting the change, and big acts like Taylor Swift famously pulled all of her music out of Spotify, saying she's not willing to be a part of this "experiment." So when I caught up with American alternative band Echosmith before their performance at Rock in Rio Las Vegas, the question arose: is Spotify the best or the worst thing happening in the industry?
"We all use Spotify and I think things are changing and everyone is kind of adjusting to figure out how to make it work," Jamie Sierota, lead guitarist for the all-siblings band.
"I guess Internet has changed a lot of things, for better or for worse, and we've got to figure out what that adjustment means," he continued. "Spotify, in a lot of countries, is working really great. Only time will tell, and we'll have to figure it out, cause otherwise there won't be musicians to make music."
Asked how they feel about illegal downloads, the feeling is mixed. "The upside to downloads is that people are finding music and listening to it, which maybe they wouldn't have done if they had to pay for it," Jamie elaborated. "Of course we want people to buy our records and we prefer that, but at the same time with Spotify there's some kind of revenue stream that is happening."
The four siblings alternative band, based in Los Angeles, is now touring Europe off the "Talking Dreams" album, released in 2013, from which "Cool kids" is the best known single.
Lead singer Sydney Sierota says they're still trying to figure out how to fit in, and that the band relates to that song more now that they're famous than when they wrote it.
"I know it's changing and everyone is kind of freaking out about it," Jamie continued about streaming, saying they "don't have it figured out" and they're not experts on it. One thing is awesome, though, they think. "It's cool that, as Spotify rises, vinyl records are also starting to become more popular again." Somethings do change.
