This isn’t to add commentary to an already overflowing conversation about the ethics of TikTok. This isn’t to say that electronic media is evil, certainly not when I am using modern technology to write this all down. This isn’t an admonishment of the “brain rot” era that some say we live in.
This isn’t commentary on the persisting issue of billionaires getting richer while the workers starve; that Spotify’s Chairman and former CEO Daniel Ek is worth 9.2 billion dollars while Spotify continues to pay between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream.
This isn’t a revelation that Spotify continues to make the goal posts farther for musicians and creatives to earn money, now demonetizing songs under 1,000 streams in an effort to continue paying musicians less and less money.
This isn’t an investigative piece into the new initiative from Netflix to use AI to help produce shows.
This IS to say, there is live entertainment out there in the world right now and it’s waiting for us.
In the wake of COVID-19, the return to live entertainment has been slow and arduous, with many establishments shuttering their doors since 2020. The ones that remain have faced an uphill battle, needing to be consistent with their programming to build an audience.
The threat to live entertainment isn’t just public health crises’, it’s the rapidly progressing world of online entertainment, that has become increasingly insular and antisocial.
The future that was once promised to humanity was vast and wide, now it has been shrunk down to be portable and wireless.
Following the moon landing, NASA made a vow that humans would be on Mars by 1979. Of course, that hasn’t occurred, and with that that promise habitually stalled, the goal of stretching out our spatial limits has been changed to bringing the excitement of the unknown to the palm of your hand.
Thus began the Album Era, which evolved from LP to Cassette to CD to MP3 to the streaming of today. Following suit was the Home Video era; Betamax and VHS to DVD to Blu-Ray to the streaming of today. The entertainment formats once built around community and shared experience have been diluted down in such a way that these experiences, while being touted as more “accessible” are inherently more isolating.
Companies hide behind phrases such as “Made for You” and “Based on Your Recent Viewing” to make you feel singled out and noticed. Streaming services retroactively rename genres of music and movies to fit contemporary trends, be it “sad girl indie” on Spotify or “Social-Issues Dramas” on Netflix. The hope is to reclassify existing media under a new genre umbrella and use your personal data to inform the next “genre shift”, ensuring that you remain tethered to their business. Your media intake exists to inform an algorithm that will predict and create the next content, made at exceedingly less costs with less humans and less care.
They don’t want you to share new experiences in a mass setting, they want the individual to consume and keep consuming, all on their own. They tout initiatives like “Netflix Watch Party” and “Spotify Jams” as opportunities for individuals to connect with each other from long distances away, from the comfort of their own homes. This sounds enjoyable but consider what’s it’s actually asking of you: Do you want to socialize, or would you rather stay inside and be satiated by low quality content that is repeated and predictable?
The advancements of cell phones and streaming services have made it possible for an individual to listen to footage from the Beatle’s play at the Star Club in Hamburg 1962, all from the comfort of their toilet seat.
So, I ask:
Would you have gotten off your couch to see The Beatle’s at the Star Club?
Would you have put your shoes on and left the house to go to the Holy City Zoo in 1976 to see a bartender named Robin Williams do stand up for the first time?
Now let’s try this:
Would you see a comedian or a band or a play in your own town this weekend?
The same money that goes to Daniel Ek and Spotify’s shareholders, the same money that goes to Netflix CEO’s Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and their AI department, the money that funds their research into producing lower quality shows that hope you’re not paying attention. The money spent on any one of over 200 streaming services could be spent supporting real people that care about you. The comfort and ease that music and media streaming services offer is undeniable, but they hate you.
Spotify, Apple, Netflix, Hulu, Disney+; they hate you.
These performers and theaters in your community are run by real people who view you as a person. They are happy to see you and happy to share their talent with you. You are a name, a face, and a personality that matters. When you support them financially, you are supporting an individual with bills, just like you. You are sharing a special moment with them by being present for something that is happening in real time.
They have practiced and prepared in hopes that you come, so that they may share with you a joy and talent they have.
There’s a spark and dangerous charm to live entertainment. It’s real. The possibility that something could go wrong, the fear that it will be bad, but especially the excitement when it’s amazing. We live in a time consumed by Retromania, constantly consumed with a not so distant past.
Instead of waxing poetic about the way “things used to be” or bemoaning your screen time reports, take initiative and see what live events you have in your neighborhood.
Deven Mello
Devon has been a member of The Bit Players since 2010, joining when he was 15 years old and currently serves as the Musical and Artistic Director of The Firehouse Theater.
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