Andrew McCluskey

Don’t Panic, Know Where Your Towel Is 9.22.2020 Medium

1. The basic technique is to maintain a ferment of strong emotions and attach them to the topic of the moment.

2. The technique is profitable and a path to political power.

3. Politicians give the illusion of stability by creating a narrative that it’s us vs. them; we’re the good guys, and they’re... See more

There is so much freedom to play and experiment in these shared non-monetized spaces, but the music industry is deeply broken and it is making music matter less, not at its core, but the consequence of diminishing its monetary value while placing the burden of popularity on broke artists means the whole thing feels like a demoralizing shakedown.... See more

I often quote the example of a metal band who produced this one acoustic ballad. That ballad was great and ended up in a big editorial playlist, generating a lot of saves and listenership. However, the band suffered algorithmically. Algorithms learned that their music was adequate for ballad lovers, recommending it to more of them. When that... See more