The Numbers Game
Stop paying attention on monthly listeners. It means nothing.
Numbers, numbers, numbers. They are all around us, making the world quantifiable and things comparable. They influence our perception of value and quality.
The soap for $20 must be better than the $2 one, right? And items priced at $3,99 sell way better compared to $4. It’s called psychological pricing.
Numbers can be used to manipulate our behaviour and our decision-making.
Okay, why do I talk about soap and pricing and numbers? At the start of this year, I left Spotify for Apple Music. But it was only a couple of days ago that I realised how free of any numbers Apple’s streaming service is. No monthly listeners, no plays, no likes—nothing.
And I also felt how liberating it is—consciously and unconsciously.
The Measurement of Music
Numbers have always played a significant role in the music industry. Charts were compiled through record sales and radio plays. In the end, for better or worse, it’s a business like any other.