A Sabbatical from Music

I love music. Throughout my teenage years, outside of spending time at school, I was a frequent guest at the nearby record store when I was living in Indonesia. I essentially lived and breathed music where it would be part of every waking moment. Like everyone who was stuck at home during the pandemic, I was a frequent music listener, raking up thousands of listening hours on Spotify in 2020 and 2021, building up a kind of dependency on having something playing in the background in every instance and scenario.

Though, having built this daily listening music habit through my high school and bachelor graduation (which is a span of four years, mind you), it feels almost automatic to open up one of m many music apps and play something whilst I head to the shops or to university. Like clockwork.

Having come to this realization, I slowly realized just how little I really enjoyed listening to music anymore. Of course, I loved the music - but an ongoing trend that's been plaguing today's society like the crack epidemic of the 80s, is the infinite scroll on whatever social media of your choosing. This sentiment was what brought me to write about my article on Soundscapes, as no longer do we appreciate the things in life that we take for granted. Shows, music, movies are practically dispensable in today's age - it's not very surprising that some artists have chosen to forego releasing on streaming platforms for a couple of months whilst they sell their music on Bandcamp.

In today's age, everyone seeks visibility. By writing this, I'm also seeking attention from the small audience I have (thank you for taking the time to read this and show your support). However, my livelihood doesn't depend on writing these modest articles in my own corner of the internet. Rather, this is a space for me to braindump my thoughts for those who care to read them.

Through our utilization of streaming platforms, we gradually lose appreciation for the very artists we love. We may enjoy their music, but in today's world, they've become somewhat dispensable. This realization, coupled with my increasing dependency on music as background noise, has led me to a decision.

In the era of digitalization, it's not just the very popular or famous artists whose monetary opportunities are severely impacted by streaming payouts; it's the aspiring indie artists who rely on creating and selling their music for their livelihood. That said, the current streaming model is negatively affecting artists across the board.

With this knowledge of how artists are treated now, having started to lose my appreciation, love, and passion for the artists that I love, and realizing my increasing dependency on music as background noise, I've figured that it's time to step away from music for a bit.

The Plan

I've thought about taking a sabbatical from listening to music for a while now. Youtuber Lmjulie released a video earlier this year describing how she ended up taking a break from listening to music for three months. It's a rather inspiring watch and had laid out the plan to take some time away from listening to music.

Delete all music apps
Ban yourself from playing music or sounds through Youtube or other similar sites
Download Soundscape sounds and put them on your various devices

There are, however, additionally strict ground rules that I need to set for myself:

This extends to music (if i can change the music slider) in video games but NOT in movies and TV shows
- N.B. this is what would make GTA IV's soundscape much more interesting
If I accidentally hear or stumble upon other people's music (usually when I'm in the city or from my roommates), this would not break the experiment.

Admittedly, it seems a lot easier said than done. I also have an Ezra Collective concert I've got to attend to on the 23rd of October.

Once I've developed more of a plan, I'll provide some more updates.