Drop the Revolution

Revolutions are often painted with passions and pitchforks. But sometimes, a revolution begins with simple math.

On Spotify, a stream is worth $0.00437. To make $10, an artist must summon 2,288 listeners. Each song a crumb in a bottomless feed. On YouTube Music, it takes 10,000 streams to equal the same $10.

The US recorded 100 million paid subscriptions, feeding a $17.7 billion market where streaming devours 84% of all recorded revenue (RIAA). Meanwhile, for 8.2 million self-releasing artists, it’s a treadmill. Where the growth rate of artists is 3.5× that of the growth rate of revenue (MIDiA).

• The artist pool is exploding. The number of self-releasing artists (those without a label, putting music out through DIY distributors like DistroKid, TuneCore, etc.) has been growing rapidly year over year.

• The ratio is about 3.5 to 1. For every 1% growth in revenue, there’s ~3.5% growth in the number of artists.

If artist income grows 10% in a year, but the number of self-releasing artists grows 35%, then each artist’s average earnings per person actually shrink.

It’s not a paradox, it’s a market at scale.

History Doesn’t Repeat, It Rhymes

As the math calcifies dreams into despair, Zay Lewis’ TikTok, Kwe The Artist’s Phyzi drive, and Chance the Rapper’s Starline rollout, inspired and influenced DropPlay. By highlighting the true meaning of a “revolution.”

From the Latin revolvere: 

“a turning back, a revolving.” 

Revolution once described celestial bodies returning to their point of origin. Today, artists are trapped in the clouds. Streaming platforms have 8.2 million artists competing for little to nothing while profit from their time and work.

Vinyl. Obsolete, bulky, gloriously physical. Generated $1.4 billion in the U.S. in 2024, its 18th year of growth.

Downloads persist too, a thin 2% of revenue carried by a stubborn breed of listener who insists on owning what they love.

We have been here before:

• Punk pressed its own vinyl and refused permission.

• Hip-hop scavenged abandoned tools to build an empire.

Both created parallel economies.

The Economics of Independence

One fan, one download, equals 2,288 listeners or 10,000 streams.

• On average, only 1–5% of impressions convert into plays.

• An artist, without paid ads, spends 20–25 hours a week posting, engaging, performing, promoting.

Artists spend more time building the value of streaming platforms than they do building themselves.

At the moment, there is no competing with Spotify, Apple, UMG, or Sony. But there’s no need.

• Bandcamp already proved direct-to-fan works, returning 82% to artists.

• Goldman Sachs predicts the next wave of music growth won’t be casual listeners but “superfans.” 

• Global music revenue now stands at $36.2 billion. Within it, $10.7 billion belongs to non-majors, and $2.0 billion to “Artists Direct.”

A market size of $2-$10 billion is more than enough to provide a good living for serious artists. Those willing to build their fanbase one download at a time.

When the Music Drops

DropPlay is aims to reduce the gap between artists and their fans:

• Strengthens communication: A direct line, artist to fan, without algorithms in the middle.

• Supports commerce: Every download fuels the artist, not the platform.

• Builds community: Fans and artists finding each other, city to city, scene to scene.

DropPlay restores the direct line:

• Fans are seen, not just counted.

• Artists can send updates, releases, and tour dates directly.

• Communities can connect beyond the algorithm, across cities, across genres.

When the next album drops, it doesn’t need to vanish into the feed. It can strengthen a fanbase. Expand revenue. Spark community.

DropPlay is how artists and fans find relief from the algorithms.