Conservative projections suggest The Pack's model could attract tens, if not hundreds of millions of users globally. Not because it's a tech disruptor with a clever growth hack. Because the problem it's solving is everywhere.

The dissatisfaction with how major streaming platforms treat artists, compensate musicians, and homogenise discovery isn't a Western Australian problem or an Australian problem. It's a structural problem with the platform capitalism model, and it exists everywhere the model operates - which is everywhere.

The cooperative alternative isn't a niche ethical preference for people who care about music. It is a model that addresses a documented, global failure in how recorded music generates income for the people who make it.

New blog on the global appetite for a different streaming model, and why thinking locally doesn't mean thinking small.

👉 https://www.packmusic.au/blog/supersizedstreamingsucks

#EthicalStreaming #MusicIndustry #PlatformCooperative #IndependentMusic #ThePackMusic #GlobalMusic #MusicianOwned

Spotify announced it paid $11 billion to the music industry in 2025. Largest annual payout in history. Definitely not a small number. And they want us to feel like this is a win for the music industry.

And it is a win... for some. Here's who won, specifically: the big 4 major record labels, distributors, publishers, and collecting societies. Not, as some might still assume, the artists who made the music.

Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' hit one billion streams. Spotify sent her a commemorative plaque. It sounds like she should have made bank off the song she made famous, right? She said the money was "just about nothing." The $2.7 million that Spotify reportedly paid out went to whoever currently holds the rights - which, forty years and multiple label changes later, is not straightforwardly the artist who sang the song.

The 100,000th highest-earning artist on Spotify made $7,300 in 2025. That's in the top 0.77% of 13 million uploaders. Less than 1%, considered the top earners on the platform, earning what is not a living wage anywhere in Australia. What most of us would barely consider supplementary income.

But what artists are finally starting to realise is that this is no accident. It's not even uncommon. The structure is working exactly as it was designed. And now we know… it was never actually designed for musicians. So the question that remains is, what IS designed for musicians – and how can we show up for it?

New blog from The Pack digs into the royalty chain, the user-centric alternative, and why a high five and a commemorative plaque is doing a lot of heavy lifting.👉 https://www.packmusic.au/blog/follow-the-money

#StreamingRoyalties #IndependentMusic #MusicEconomics #ThePackMusic #PlatformCooperative #FairPay #MusicianRights

as this is post #101

here's a quick reminder...
#betheflow = Free, Libre & Open Works.

we are #betatesters of lovely #foss goodness!
we are #researchers
we are #developers
we are #enablers

In 2024, we formed tec3. #tectres, as a foundational member of @minds
In 2026, we continue to provide #opentech support across many #communities locally & globally.

our #platformcooperative model, is established by #tripartite agreement. creating a #trefoil for technological education.

Why I gave the world wide web away for free, Tim Berners-Lee

"I gave the world wide web away for free because I thought that it would only work if it worked for everyone. Today, I believe that to be truer than ever. Regulation and global governance are technically feasible, but reliant on political willpower. If we are able to muster it, we have the chance to restore the web as a tool for collaboration, creativity and compassion across cultural borders. We can re-empower individuals, and take the web back. It’s not too late."
>>
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/28/why-i-gave-the-world-wide-web-away-for-free
#WorldWideWeb #W3 #PlatformCooperative #governance

Here's a wild idea: what if the people who create music actually owned the platform they distribute it on?
Crazy, right?

In a world where streaming giants are owned by investors who've probably never picked up an instrument, we chose to be a cooperative. That means every musician, listener, and business partner has an equal say in how we operate. No billionaire overlords making decisions about your creative future from a boardroom.

Yes, it limits our investment options. Yes, it means we can't just chase profit at any cost. But it also means when we say "artist-first," we can't be bought out or pivot to please shareholders tomorrow. It's literally baked into our business model.

Platform cooperatives put power back where it belongs—in the hands of the people who create and consume the culture. Revenue follows listening, data stays with artists, and community values can't be overridden by someone's quarterly targets.

https://www.packmusic.au/how-it-works#whycooperative

#PlatformCooperative #Cooperative #EthicalTech #CommunityOwned #DemocraticOwnership #TechForGood #DataSovereignty #AlternativePlatforms #SocialEnterprise #ThePackMusicCoop #FairTech

Another opportunity for a platform cooperative...

"Menulog said New Zealand represents a small part of its business, and this small size was insufficient to maintain a healthy business in the market.

Its website and app will no longer be operational from the 16 May."

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/514402/food-delivery-service-menulog-quits-nz-says-market-too-small

#Aotearoa #NZ #PlatformCooperative #FoodDelivery #MenuLog

Part of the anxiety over #Threads/ #Meta is a feeling of lack of possible ownership - that unaccountable admins will defederate and there’s nothing you can do about it.
We don’t have to live that way! User-owned, democratically managed instances exist (the #PlatformCooperative model).

We don’t have to be helpless content generators if we #SeizeTheMeansOfCommunity.

There was an organization offering free schedules / meetings about starting (platform) cooperatives here, in the past 6 weeks or so. Can anybody help me remember the group, or point me to it?

I think they were UK based?

#coop #cooperative #PlatformCooperative