Fighting Not To Be A Commodity

Regarding the article in the Washington Post "As Apple Music grows, it wants to pay labels less. Here’s why that is important", although it delves into the pros and cons of the deal for Apple, Spotify, and (to a lesser extent) the record labels, it does not talk about what it means for musicians. I think this is because, consciously or unconsciously, all parties look to minimize musicians. If they could have hit songs cranked out in a sweatshop, they would.

Music is treated as a commodity. And so are musicians. I think survival in today's world is dependent on NOT being seen as a commodity, NOT being seen as interchangeable with someone down the street who charges a fraction of what you do.