r/Music • u/no_longer_huhmann • 1d ago

article Hayley Williams Urges Sold-Out Crowd to Support Independent Music: “Go to Little Shows at Independent Venues. Find Your People, Find Your Favorite Music, and Support That.”

https://www.tvfandomlounge.com/hayley-williams-support-independent-music/
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u/Will-Of-D-3D2Y 1d ago

Yeah, but this requires being willing to seek out small/independent artists and not just follow whatever's popular. And a lot of people aren't willing to. You even see that on this very sub where people seemingly can't wait to post 'Who?' in every post that isn't about a well-known household name.

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u/Ditcka 1d ago

Everybody likes music but very few people care about music

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u/Draconiondevil 1d ago

Very well said. I’ve never seen it put like that but it captures the difference perfectly. Most people enjoy listening to music, but don’t care enough to actively seek out and support lesser-known artists.

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u/JBFRESHSKILLS 23h ago

I’m just old, man. When I was in my teens and 20s (45 now) I gave a shit about finding new bands and seeing them in tiny venues. Unfortunately a lot of those bands either got very popular or aren’t around anymore. That leaves me with paying $150 for GA tickets to see my old favorite bands that are still around. I appreciate kids seeking out new artists and supporting them locally at small shows, I’m just not into the scene anymore.

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u/BoldazLove 22h ago

I am 67 and I constantly seek out new music. I have grown tired with people my age who still only listen to music they grew up with. Actually I just don't like being around older people, all they do is talk about how everything was so much better when they were young. The world changes people need to change with it, or they will just live in the past and continue to try a drag us back into to it. Nostalgia is the cause of many problems with our society.

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u/JBFRESHSKILLS 11h ago

I admire your commitment, and I appreciate your perspective, but I just don’t have the desire. It’s not about seeking nostalgia for me. I’ve decided to dedicate my free time to other media instead of music. I’m a big lover of movies, so instead of seeking music these days, I seek indie films and new filmmakers and listen to a lot of podcasts about them.

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u/BoldazLove 8h ago

It's good that you have something that you're passionate about.

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u/haywardhaywires 17h ago

Ayyyyy 6-7!

See how that’s fuckin stupid and new? Not everything new is cool and not all progress is good. Some shit was better. The music industry was one thing that was better.

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u/BoldazLove 16h ago

Such a brilliantly constructed counter point. I apologize for making you feel threatened.

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u/CoarseCourse 12h ago

I’m younger but I fuck with your pov. Don’t ever crystallize yourself, change can be good if we let it.

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u/KingHygelacReturns 1d ago

True, but there are also a lot of people (including myself, to be honest) who like to listen to more obscure artists but don't make the time to actually support them when they come to small venues. If a message like Hayley's can get some people off the couch and into a venue, that's a good thing.

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u/BearsAtFairs 1d ago

It’s almost like this post is about encouraging people to try putting that effort in lol

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u/askvictor 15h ago

It doesn't even take that much effort once you've found some venues. Just rock up and watch whoever is playing. Sometimes you won't like it, sometimes you will. Either way you've supported some local bands, maybe broadened your horizons, and hopefully found a mega-band while they were still in metaphorical nappies.

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u/det0724 1d ago

There's also a lot of once thriving or doing OK small local music venues that are closing down for various reasons. So even if you got a band you like that's playing smaller venues they may not come within a reasonable distance of where you live because the place that could have housed them closed down.

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u/duckhunt420 1d ago

It takes a lot of time and effort to seek out fresh, niche music. 

I used to dedicate hours a day to finding new bands, listening to music, hunting down what song was playing from some movie or show before this stuff was all ready available online. 

Now I just take whatever Spotify shovels my way because I'm tired and busy :(

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u/decrpt 1d ago

Now I just take whatever Spotify shovels my way because I'm tired and busy :(

You say this, but my liked songs playlist had 4000+ songs mostly from niche artists because of Spotify. The Discover Weekly playlists are unironically good for discovering new music, especially with the new things they added recently to specifically show you new artists.

I've added like four new artists this week alone with average listener counts of like 10 to 20k a month.

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u/alienbanter 1d ago

Seconding this. I've been to like 4 shows in the past month at small venues with <$35 tickets for touring independent artists Spotify introduced me to over the years

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u/zaccus 1d ago

Just show up to random shows at local venues on a regular basis. A lot of them have free nights. Beer is good. Doesn't take that much effort.

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u/randomdestructn 1d ago

then make some friends and they'll tell you about other bands and invite you to shows

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u/hydrangeasinbloom 1d ago

And if you’re lucky they’re in bands and you can make lifelong friends right within your local music scene and constantly learn about new side projects and go travel and stuff!

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u/goatfuckersupreme 1d ago

and talk... to people?!?!

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u/duckhunt420 1d ago

Going to see shows on a regular basis would mean I'm not tired or busy. 

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u/zaccus 1d ago

Who among us is not tired and busy? Everyone is tired and busy man.

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u/BL4ZE_ 1d ago

I just follow a bunch of local promoters and when I feel like going out I check whats playing tonight. Of course where I live there's dozens of small venues, so your mileage may vary in different cities.

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u/who-hash 1d ago

I hear you. Old dude here that used to spend lots of time going to indie stores and talking to the employees.

Just don't have the time for that now since my old record store is over an hour away but I discover all sorts of new music via Bandcamp along with new releases from my old favs.

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u/giant2179 1d ago

Listen to kexp.org. independent Seattle station constantly playing good new stuff

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u/duckhunt420 21h ago

Ah I do love kexp! They record such good live performances 

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u/ComplicatedSyrup 1d ago

I also think Spotify’s algorithm is actually pretty good for finding new artists, and I say this as a pretty obscure band who plays with other pretty obscure bands. The “fans also like” section is great and usually has similarly-sized artists.

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u/PrimeIntellect 1d ago

I mean a lot of fresh stuff isn't even online, you just gotta go to the venues even if you've barely heard of them

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u/psidhumid 1d ago

Hot take it’s very easy actually. Everybody likes to hate on Spotify’s algorithm but once you start listening to an actual new band or artists with even 5 mil or less monthly listeners the autoplay plays songs that are also from other unknown bands.

Then “radio” for those songs or artists are filled with new songs.

It even has a non-personalized version that works not taking into account your listening history.

It’s easy and more people should try it

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u/no_longer_huhmann 1d ago

Does Spotify shovel good music your way anymore though? I find you get a lot of pop songs that these celebs pay for and often even AI slop gets in the Top 50 Discovery charts

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u/zaccus 1d ago

Find one local artist you like, follow them on insta, look at who they follow and who they share bills with, go down the rabbit hole

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u/Phoenix_Rising42069 1d ago

I’m an Apple Music guy, and they have an “infinity mode” that once the album you were listening to is finished, they start playing music in that same vein. I’ve discovered a few new artists that way.

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u/Actual-Feed-9739 1d ago

It sounds good in theory but my god I wish they'd stop turning that shit on automatically. I absolutely hate it when I'm vibing to the end of an album thay has like a powerful outro or a good fade out, only to launch right into something nuts with blast beats or something.

I want to sit with the ending of the album for a moment, I don't need you to force feed me another song.

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u/Phoenix_Rising42069 1d ago

I’ve yet to have it turned on automatically, when I turn it off it stays off. 🤷‍♂️

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u/Actual-Feed-9739 1d ago

iPhone user? I'm on android and apple hates us so that might be why lol

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u/Phoenix_Rising42069 1d ago

Indeed I am, and that’s a fair guess as to why. Only issue I have with it is it sometimes gets turned off when I didn’t want it to.

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u/blackbasset 16h ago

If only there was a way to do this

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u/duckhunt420 1d ago

I wouldn't have said "shovel" if it was good lol

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u/luneth27 1d ago

Does Spotify shovel good music your way anymore though? I find you get a lot of pop songs that these celebs pay for and often even AI slop gets in the Top 50 Discovery charts

Unironically I still pay for premium specifically because of spotify's rec engine. I easily find a dozen new bands whenever I look to find something new in the subgenre I'm looking for. I've found niche Ukrainian black metal like Kekht Arakh/Balance Interruption, I've found breakcore like Christoph de Babalon/Xanopticon/cast heal, spotify's always finding me new slamming beatdown to spin, hell I even realized there's a ton of rap I like that just isn't radio rap like glxtch/Kenny Segal/Curly Castro and a buncha other shit that if I enumerated we'd be here all day.

It's super strong, you just gotta break out of the 1m+ listener shit.

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u/decrpt 1d ago

Do not us top lists or curated lists. Use the Discover playlists every Monday and Friday. It is tailored to your tastes and, at least for me, usually helps me discover at least one new artist or song a week that I like.

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u/goodpiano276 23h ago

I tend to stay away from any playlists based on algorithms though; I'm always afraid it's going to feed me some Ai bullshit.

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u/ox_ 1d ago

As evil as Spotify is, I've discovered literally hundreds of great smaller artists through there that I've gone on to watch live in all kinds of venues.

The key is finding a good start point. Once you've found a new band you like, you can bounce around artist radio and all that good stuff.

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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 1d ago

Pandora has a station modifier where you can input some bands you like and then turn in discovery mode for new bands. Works well for me.

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u/SkiingAway 17h ago

Like every algorithm-driven service: It depends on how conscious you are about what your behavior on it is going to do for your future recommendations. (And also how well you understand how to use it's various functions).

If you're aggressive about banning/blocking anything you don't like and make a point of not engaging with the type of content you don't want more of, you can get decent results.

If you just hit play on your "Release Radar" and hear some shit song you hate - and wind up listening to it 4x more this week because you play through that playlist again 4 more times this week - that kind of thing makes your recommendations worse. If you'd banned it from the playlist a minute into the first listen and never listened to that song again, you'd be better off.

tl;dr - you have to be an active listener, not just letting crap you don't like play.

Separately: Spotify has a bunch of functions I think people under-recognize. A lot of artists put up their own playlists (under "artist playlists" on their artist page) of stuff they like. The "fans also like" on the artist pages is also helpful. I find a good chunk of new to me music by just clicking on random artists I've been liking recently and seeing what else they recommend or that people who like them listen to. Works especially well in more niche areas.

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u/GreedyRaisin3357 1d ago

go back to your usual discovery.. don't let Spotify steer you

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u/ta20240930 1d ago

It's a little easier if you know what genres you like. I love heavy music (extreme metal, hardcore, etc.). If a band from one of these genres is coming to one of the local venues, I go even if I haven't listened to them before. It helps that certain venues usually have certain genres. It's rare that I'm disappointed, especially if it is a band on a national tour and has at least 1 EP.

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u/A_Refill_of_Mr_Pibb 1d ago

People are passive about music, especially if they're older and grew up with FM radio and MTV being the only sources. They don't understand digital media, or if they have families, they disengage from culture altogether like my parents did. It's an insane statement for someone to say there's no good music today.

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u/unassumingdink 1d ago

An awful lot of people just want to listen to the same music they liked in high school for the rest of their lives. My boomer parents were this way. They stopped discovering new stuff at some point in the '70s.

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u/A_Refill_of_Mr_Pibb 1d ago

My uncle too. He listens to Traffic and Hot Tuna and bands like that. Don't get me wrong Steve Winwood, great singer, Jack Cassady, influential bass player but, there's like so many more bands lol

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u/MoorsMoopsMoorsMoops 1d ago

But some of those small artists will become popular and you’ll be glad you got to see them early on.

I saw Taylor Swift live years ago before she blew up and after her set she was just hanging out by the stage where people could come meet her, take a photo, get an autograph, etc. I have a photo with her from that show and there’s almost zero chance any fan could get within 100’ of her now.

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u/ChineseBot-853210 1d ago

Honestly. Live music of any kind in a small venue is so good. You don’t have to spend time seeking anything out. Just go.

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u/unassumingdink 1d ago

Even music you don't even like sounds so much better. I used to go to blues joints and get subjected to Mustang Sally four times a night, but it was still pretty great.

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u/djfl 1d ago

You don't need to seek out anything. You need to show up. You're certainly free to seek out if you want to, and I do. But I just showed up at a concert yesterday to a band I knew next to nothing about. Was a good time.

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u/Mickey_Clips 1d ago

Yep! If anything, just show up to a local venue to socialize with people, and if you enjoy the band, its a bonus!

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u/screamline82 15h ago

One of my favorite things to do when traveling, especially internationally, is go to live music. There's always new things to find.

Hell even now one of the bands I found in Thailand is in heavy rotation for working/studying

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u/UF0_T0FU 1d ago

Not really? Use Google Maps to find the nearest venue that hosts diy touring acts and show up on Friday night. You don't have to know the band or seek out their music. Just show up. Even if you don't know any of their songs, or people ask "who?" on your insta story, you'll still have a good time.

And if it does suck, you're only out $10 bucks and a short trip from home.

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u/WashedSylvi 1d ago

Factual shit right here

Been to many many shows where I have no idea who anyone on the lineup is

Sometimes you find a new favorite band

Shoutout Guttertown

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u/Kaladin-of-Gilead 1d ago

There’s also the problem of when a small artist starts getting popular their shows skyrocket in price.

Angine de Poitrine tickets in Toronto are $1200 now

I went from seeing them on TikTok to unable to afford their tickets in like a span of a month lol

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u/slonk_ma_dink 1d ago

That's the thing though, you don't just have to go see artists you like. Find something similar, hell even in an adjacent genre and you'll have a good time even if the music being played isn't just your spotifiy list.

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u/nifty-necromancer 1d ago

There are always local bands playing at bars, it’s less seeking it out and more paying attention to local news.

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u/GotSomeUpdogOnUrFace 1d ago

This is the important thing. Not everything you see is gonna be good but it's gonna be real. I divide mt shows up into 3 categories. Bands I love 50%, bands I've heard of 30% and for $15 and cheap beer why the fuck not 20%.

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u/danabrey 1d ago

You even see that on this very sub where people seemingly can't wait to post 'Who?' in every post that isn't about a well-known household name

All you can do is feel sorry for them. Ignorant people aren't something to fear or await judgement from.

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u/hezur6 Spotify 23h ago

Not really! If you know just one small venue where there's a small gig every weekend, seeing those types of shows is just a matter of... going there? And the small venues around you will have Instagrams where they'll post about upcoming events and you can pick and choose between them.

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u/casper911ca 14h ago

If you take the time and approach the band, they will be able to tell you about other upcoming shows of other local bands. It's a community and it's a grind promoting you and your communities shows and they would be happy to tell you about everything they know as long as they aren't in the middle of breaking down gear. Also get to know your local venues, many of the people running them as amazing music taste and can give you great recommendations

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u/hppmoep 14h ago

I just follow the same ~100 bands I listened to in my 20s. 1/2 are not together, 1/4 blew up too big or just suck, the 1/4 that are niche enough I won't miss.

To un-simplify things I have found new bands I like and most are $60-100 a show but I go to the ones that are $30 or less. Ballpark numbers obviously but I ain't paying more than $50 for a ticket unless I know it is gonna be great. Already got burned on "this will be an amazing show" and it is worse than hearing it from the car behind you.

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u/Hell0There2005 1d ago

Are we really at the point where seeking is seen as too much of a hindrance?

Its no wonder these billion dollar corporations shove crap in our face and we take it cuz they know we wont seek out an alternative

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u/williamgman 1d ago

Many folks are dating on apps. Makes sense music is treated the same.

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u/Journeyman351 1d ago

Right, and that's on them.

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u/01100011011010010111 1d ago

You realize all those 'who' posts are bots for the studios right? Every major corporation/government needs an AI farm to influence not enlighten.