All posts tagged: social media

Posted on Aug 11, 2025 at 13:10 by scott truitt

The dominant social and streaming services created a model in which only a handful of companies benefit from the creation and consumption of all music.

Posted on Jul 2, 2025 at 05:43 by scott truitt

Modern music has always had someone or something—labels, agents, lawyers, managers, publicists, distributors, and more—between artists and fans. Many are thoughtful and transformative. Some are dreadful and destructive. However, even the worst of all is no match for today’s dominant intermediaries, social and streaming companies. They emerged over the last decade with weaponised technology, unprecedented reach, and brazen leaders willing to do anything for power and profit. And they are destro

Posted on Jun 5, 2025 at 06:03 by scott truitt

“We pay a fortune for such a poor experience.” That was one of the first problem statements I wrote in the early days of Sawtooth last year. It referred to the enshitification of Spotify and other social and streaming services. It still resonates today for unexpected reasons. Now it’s the proliferation of mindless AI-generated art, music, and writing. Nothing prepared me for how quickly this slop would invade these human spaces, how willing so many would be to welcome it, and how much it wou

Posted on Apr 24, 2025 at 23:00 by scott truitt

The online spaces we use to be with our friends and family, know what’s happening in the world, hear music from our favourite artists, do business, and more no longer serve these fundamental needs. People crave authenticity, connection, and genuine community with other humans. Instead, they receive an increasing feed of engagement bait, time sinks, algorithmic gruel, and AI slop. Look around, and you’ll see it everywhere. Even here on LinkedIn. Same with Spotify. Meta is the worst. It’s even d

Posted on Apr 15, 2025 at 07:39 by scott truitt

Social media promised to bring people together, but the powers that be decided it was more profitable to tear us apart. Streaming media promised to help artists live off their art, but the powers that be decided it was more profitable to cheat them out of a living. People who wanted absolute power and profit at any cost made these decisions. They built systems to exploit the rest of us. They did not care about humanity or take any personal responsibility. However, people with different values

Posted on Jan 2, 2025 at 09:06 by scott truitt

Enshitification was my favourite word last year, but I only recently realised that it is hiding deeper and darker truths about the concentration of wealth and power. Now that I see it, it’s everywhere, and I want you to see it, too. The idea behind enshitification is simple: as platforms gain users (aka customers and partners), the service, experience, and value they receive degrade while the costs of using the platform increase. That fact alone is awful and a reason to rebel. But there’s