Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento

Exactly.

Yeah.

I think there's been a lot of criticism of these platformers from many artists.

This is the thing.

When I asked the artists that I talked to for this story, this particular question and, you know, what their relationship with these platforms is like, since it's something that, you know, it's helped them gain this huge reach and really distill their message to a wide audience.

But it seems like it's kind of complicated for them because like in a way, you know, an app like TikTok or Instagram or Spotify can be a huge tool for music discovery and

And for helping people who have maybe been traditionally shut out of the music industry sort of reach new audiences and sort of launch their own careers.

But it can also shut a lot of voices out.

And there does tend to be a feeling that, like, there is some kind of censorship on these apps.

There's so much that we don't know about how these apps work and how the algorithm works and how it prioritizes the content.

So there are imperfect tools.

And I think the artists are perfectly aware of that.

But I think...

they're trying to use them to the best of their ability because at the end of the day, they do change people's careers.

I mean, Jesse Wells, you know, started making these videos on TikTok and now he's nominated for four Grammys and he's an independent artist.

Like it really can sort of put you in front of an audience that would never have access to you otherwise.

But there is a trade-off.

Like you're absolutely right.

I think it's a very complicated thing and it seems like the artists themselves are sort of trying to walk the balance between the ethics of it and then also having this huge tool at their disposal to get their message out.

I mean, honestly, I think it shows that a lot of people want to feel heard right now.