I remember reading a quote a while back (sorry don't remember the exact source) that Daniel Ek's vision for Spotify was to transform music from a product-based industry into a service-industry.

It's safe to say that he accomplished this. 

Part of these first videos I've been writing and editing for Chords And Discords has revolved around what this transformation actually means. 

For most of the last century, you bought a record. You took it home, put it on, and that piece of music was yours. Like everything else you chose to own, it said something about you.

It became part of your identity.

And owning something does a strange thing to your attention. When you pay more for it, you pay more attention to it.

You sit with it. You flip the sleeve over and read the credits.

But with streaming, we traded owning music for access.

Your music was limited to whatever your local store had in stock, or however long the mailman took with the album you ordered. That world was small.

Now it's any song, any time, anywhere. That's not nothing. It's one of the genuinely incredible things about streaming, and I think it's stupid not to admit that.

But that access is granted by a corporate network, which means the same network can pull any song, any time, anywhere.

And at the risk of sounding like a complete Spotify shill here...it usually isn't Spotify doing the pulling. It's the artists.

In 2022, Neil Young yanked his entire catalog to protest Joe Rogan's COVID misinformation.

Then he put it back.

Then he took it off again.

Now he's back on.

And every time...you lose access to his music.

Compare that with your physical albums, and I don't think Neil Young could ever come down your chimney at night and take away the Harvest LP sitting on your shelf like the old Grinch that he is.

In 2025, Massive Attack and King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard pulled their music to protest Daniel Ek's defense-tech investments.

And kudos to them and all the other bands that did this. They sacrificed access to their music to make a moral stand.

Spotify, for its part, has no moral stance to take.

Because Spotify has no morals. 

To Spotify, "Morals" is an indie band with 15 monthly listeners.

So that's the trade. Unlimited access on one side, true ownership on the other. And the difference comes down to a single question: who decides when it ends? With a service, Neil Young decides when he's done with you. With a product, youdecide when you're done with Neil Young.

Worth thinking about which one you actually want holding the keys.