{"id":147806,"date":"2025-08-22T10:46:19","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T10:46:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/22\/the-unflattening-of-streaming-and-the-case-for-friction\/"},"modified":"2025-08-22T12:57:25","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T12:57:25","slug":"the-unflattening-of-streaming-and-the-case-for-friction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/22\/the-unflattening-of-streaming-and-the-case-for-friction\/","title":{"rendered":"Streaming is Having a Midlife Crisis: It’s Time for Some “Good” Friction"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Remember that epic post we did back in January, \u2018The unflattening of music\u2019? (Which, by the way, was built on two other posts\u2026 it\u2019s posts all the way down!). Well, grab your favorite beverage and a comfy chair, because we\u2019re going deeper down the rabbit hole.<\/p>\n

The music streaming world is starting to sound like a creaky old house. For years, we\u2019ve been hearing little cracks and pops in the foundation. Now, it feels like those little fissures are starting to join up into one big, undeniable crack in the living room wall. We\u2019re not at the \u201cwhole roof caves in\u201d stage yet, but it\u2019s definitely time to call a contractor.<\/p>\n

And we\u00a0have<\/em>\u00a0to fix it. Why? Because streaming is basically the entire recorded music industry’s paycheck at this point. Just shrugging and waiting for the next big thing isn’t an option unless we want a lot of amazing artists to have to get\u00a0really<\/em>\u00a0good at waiting tables.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the weirdest part of the whole problem:\u00a0The people who are actually causing the problem\u2014the listeners\u2014are perfectly happy.<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s like everyone in the restaurant kitchen is having a meltdown, but the customers out front are just happily munching on their breadsticks, oblivious. That\u2019s the paradox we need to solve.<\/p>\n

The Great Aficionado vs. Passive Listener Split<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Think back to Spotify\u2019s early days, 16 years ago. It was basically a gigantic, digital music nerd\u2019s basement. You needed to know what you were looking for. It was glorious, and it quickly made downloading music look as cool as a flip phone.<\/p>\n

But then something happened. Streaming got popular.\u00a0Really<\/em>\u00a0popular. It successfully upgraded millions of passive radio listeners and casual music buyers into subscribers. This was a huge win! But there\u2019s a catch: for every one music nerd (aka \u201csuperfan\u2122\u201d), there are about six of these more casual listeners.<\/p>\n

Naturally, the apps evolved to serve the majority. The experience became smoother, more passive, and algorithmically perfect for background listening. In doing so, music started to become a commodity\u2014a utility, like water or electricity. Awesome for convenience, terrible for culture.<\/p>\n

The big economic oopsie? Streaming charges the superfan and the passive listener the exact same monthly fee for the exact same product. Is it any wonder that superfans now show their love (and spend their extra cash) on concerts and merch instead? They\u2019re looking for a way to express their fandom, and streaming just gives them a “play” button.<\/p>\n

The Cure for the Common Stream: A Little Bit of Friction<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This might sound crazy, but hear us out:\u00a0streaming has become too convenient.<\/strong>\u00a0It needs to introduce some \u201cgood\u201d friction.<\/p>\n

Wait, don\u2019t leave! Friction isn\u2019t always a bad thing. Think about the satisfying burn after a good workout, the pride of finishing a long book, or the thrill of finally beating a ridiculously hard level in a video game. Games are literally built on friction-and-reward mechanics!<\/p>\n

Music discovery used to be full of this “good” friction. It was an adventure! You had to decode snobby music reviews, stay up late to tape songs off the radio, or spend hours crate-digging in a record store, hoping the cool employee would throw you a bone. The reward for that effort? The glorious feeling of unearthing a hidden gem that felt like\u00a0yours<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That feeling is almost entirely missing from streaming today. It\u2019s no wonder Gen Z is ironically flocking back to vinyl\u2014they\u2019re craving that sense of reward and identity that algorithms can\u2019t provide.<\/p>\n

So, What’s the Plan?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We need to design streaming services that can be both things:<\/p>\n

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    Friction-free paradise<\/strong>\u00a0for when you just want a workout playlist.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    An engaging playground<\/strong>\u00a0for when you want to \u201cdive in\u201d and geek out.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The key is to make it optional. The solution is to create\u00a0invitations<\/em>\u00a0to do more, tied directly to your identity as a fan.<\/p>\n

    Imagine earning a \u201cHidden Gem Hunter\u201d badge on your profile (why don\u2019t we have public profiles yet?! It\u2019s 2025!) for spending time in a new \u201cdeep dive\u201d mode. I hate to use the corporate buzzword, but yes, a little\u00a0gamification<\/strong>\u00a0is needed. Music is supposed to be fun! Endlessly listening to the same algorithmically-generated “Chill Vibes” playlist isn\u2019t fun; it\u2019s auditory wallpaper.<\/p>\n

    Bringing back “good” friction won\u2019t solve every problem. Fixing streaming\u2019s flatness requires a whole new blueprint. And hey, wouldn\u2019t you know it\u2026\u00a0MIDiA is working on a massive new report doing exactly that.<\/strong>\u00a0The humbly titled\u00a0\u2018Future of Streaming\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0report will be landing soon. Consider this your official invitation to get excited.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Remember that epic post we did back in January, \u2018The unflattening of music\u2019? (Which, by the way, was built on two other posts\u2026 it\u2019s posts all the way down!). Well, grab your favorite beverage and a comfy chair, because we\u2019re going deeper down the rabbit hole. The music streaming world is starting to sound like […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":147807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[694],"class_list":{"0":"post-147806","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-spotify","8":"tag-streaming"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147806"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147806\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/showbizztoday.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}