Jan. 5, 2026

Is the Music Industry a Scam?

Show Notes
Transcript

In this episode of the Music Business Newsletter with Matthew Rix, I read an email from an artist who has given up on the music industry and doesn’t hold back.
He believes the industry is a scam.
He believes most artists never had a real chance.
And he believes people like me are just selling hope dressed up as strategy.
He’s angry, disillusioned, and convinced that the system isn’t broken it’s working exactly as intended.
This isn’t a feel good episode.
In this conversation, we talk about:
• Whether the music industry is actually “winnable”
• Why do so many talented artists feel used and discarded
• The difference between education and hype
• Whether the strategy actually changes outcomes
• Who really benefits from streaming, content, and constant output
• And where artists cross the line from optimism into delusion
I don’t dismiss his frustration.
I don’t mock it.
And I don’t pretend the system is fair.
But I do challenge the idea that understanding the business is the same thing as selling false hope.
This episode is for artists who feel burned, skeptical, tired, or angry, and for anyone who’s questioning whether continuing is worth it at all.
Have a question, criticism, or strong opinion about the music business?
Go
To https://MatthewRix.com. Honest disagreement is welcome the real conversations matter most.
#musicbusiness #musicindustry #musicindustrysecrets #matthewrix

Listen to Mattrix Minute for daily Music Business insight without the music industry hype.
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WEBVTT

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Hey, this is Matthew Ricks, and today on the Music

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Business newsletter, we got an email from a skeptic. It

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seems like every week we get these emails of like,

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the music industry sucks.

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I'm gonna be replaced by AI. But before we dive.

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Into that email, if you have a question on the

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music industry that you'd like for me to answer, just

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go to Matthewricks dot com click submit your question. Give

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me as many details as possible. Listen, I don't need

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you to become a member. I don't need you to

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buy a book, I don't need you to subscribe to anything,

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none of that. Just go to Matthew Ricks dot com

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click submit your question. It's absolutely free. We'd love to

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hear from you. Now for the email. Now, I need

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to start this off by saying that the team who

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looks at these emails that come in did not want

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me to read this beforehand. They're like, just just.

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Off the cuff, go for it. And I'm like, Okay,

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here we go.

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So we're gonna discover this letter together for the first time.

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He says, Matt, that's it, just Matt, not a hey,

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not a hello, not a yo. He says, I'm not

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writing this because I want advice. I'm writing it because

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I'm tired of pretending the music industry is anything other

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than what it is. A scam wrapped in motivational dreams.

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So music industry wrapped in motivational dreams, okay, he says,

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I've been doing music for long enough to see the pattern.

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Every era has its gatekeepers, and every era era has

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people like you telling artists if you just do X,

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Y and Z, you can win. I mean, yeah, you can't,

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depends on what you you know. Let's just be real here.

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If you're a if you are an instrumentalist who plays

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the cello, you're probably not going to be selling out

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a lot of arenas as a headliner.

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But my thing has never been you can you know?

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I say on this channel, like you won't be able

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to buy a Bugatti, but you'll be able to live

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off of your music, which is what I think most

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artists would just be happy with.

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At this moment, he.

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Says, different decades, same pitch. You call it education on

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the music industry. I call it hope with a spreadsheet.

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I've watched artists do everything right and still get nowhere.

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Haven't you seen?

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Haven't you seen that that's just life. You could have

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a guy who never had a drop of alcohol in

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his life driving home one night to go back to

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his wife and kids, and he gets t boned by

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a drunk like Sometimes life isn't fair. Sometimes the artists

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who did everything right, they still don't get in nowhere.

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There's typically a reason why. Well, here's the thing. And

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I've met with our and I've seen over the years

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I've met with artists. I've talked with artists and they'll say,

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we did everything right and it didn't work. And then

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as you kind of peel back on that, you go, no,

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you didn't do everything right like you did it. You

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thought you did everything right. Everybody told you you did

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everything right. Usually what it means is they did a

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few things excellent and then that was it, and then

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they threw money at really bad, stupid things. He says,

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I've watched people with real talent burn years of their

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lives chasing algorithms, trends, content schedules, and momentum, only to

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end up tired, broke, and quietly embarrassed that they never

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believed that they ever believed.

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In this thing. You're a you're a chipper person. It's

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not just all about talent, it's it's uh. I loved

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this woman.

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I thought this woman was just one of the most

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inspiring people to be around.

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She was an artist, producer, all this. She can never

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get headway. It just never clicked.

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And the thing was is because the genre of music

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she was doing wasn't really something people were looking for.

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She was probably the smartest person I knew in the

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music industry, like as an artist, and her music theory

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was incredible and the way that she was committed to

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creating was top of the line.

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But at the end of the.

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Day, the music she was making, it had a niche

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audience that could have done something, but it wasn't. It

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wasn't something that was going to ever be mainstream, that

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was ever going to be commercial. And so you can

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have all the talent in the world like this woman did,

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but it's still not going to matter because it's not

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what the mass wants. I've said this before. Music is

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the only time that we think we don't have to

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have a great presentation, great marketing.

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We can just live off a straight talent.

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If you own a bakery and you have the best

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chocolate cake in the world, and you make it in house.

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You still have to market that. You still got to

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make sure the storefront is clean. You still have to

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make sure that when people walk into your bakery there's

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not cockroaches and rats running around the running around the shop.

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Right.

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Music is the only time where it's like I can

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basically live off a talent. I don't have to be presentable.

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I don't have to do these little things. I can

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just do the thing that I'm talented at and be fine.

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If you're chasing algorithms and trends and content schedules and

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momentum and it's not working, it's probably because it's not believable,

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or you're doing it really bad. It's just the way

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it is, he says.

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And before you say it, no, I'm not bitter because

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it didn't. I didn't work hard enough.

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I worked plenty, I released all the time, I played shows,

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I networked, I pay for recording, mixing, artwork, Instagram, ads

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and all the other tools this industry charges.

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Just to let you stand in line, what did I

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get out of it?

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Numbers that looked good on a screen but meant nothing

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in real life. I don't know what numbers you're talking

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about here. Did you pay for playlist plays? Did you

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play to boost your numbers? Did you play for did

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you pay for followers? Because if you did, yeah, you're

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going to get these results where it looks good, but

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it doesn't produce anything. That's why I never understood why

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people would go and spend money on followers, like buy

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followers and stuff like it. Yeah, it's a number. I

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guess that impresses people for a second. But at the

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end of the day, are you really proud that you

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got twenty thousand bought accounts?

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You know?

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He said opportunities that turned into favors for someone else,

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sas that went nowhere once the novelty wore off. The

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music industry doesn't reward talent, and music industries never rewarded talent.

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Never go back fifty years ago. There was some guy

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who'd be playing in a bar somewhere who is probably

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more talented than any of the slop that was on

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the radio, and he never had his moment. The music

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industry doesn't reward talent. You can create talent in the industry.

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You can't create a personality, a viral sensation.

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You can't create it.

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The industry tries all the time, and it fails, it

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crashes and burns. It says it doesn't reward effort, it

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rewards timing leverage and people who already have something to trade.

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That's not true at all. If it rewards timing leverage

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and people who already have something to trade, then what

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about these What about the hawk to a Girl?

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Okay, I know it's not music, but that was a

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viral sensation.

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What it sounds like to me with it rewards timing

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average and people who already have something to trade, It

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sounds like you're really mad that you didn't go viral,

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and you probably put a lot of money into stuff

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that didn't work. And the reason why I didn't work

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was you might have a terrible attitude. Like I'm reading

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this email right now and I'm thinking, Dear God, this

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guy had to be in a studio with somebody. I mean,

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you might be married, and God have mercy on your spouse,

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because you do not seem like a happy person. You

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seem like a bitter, jaded, pissed off person who wants

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to be around that, who wants to help that? And

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your fans probably spotted as well. Why would somebody want

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to be around an artist who's like everything sucks. The

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industry is rigged. This goes back to the Spotify comment

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when everyone's like, don't listen to my music on Spotify

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because they don't pay enough. They're gonna still go to Spotify,

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but now they're gonna out of your wishes and now

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listen to you.

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There.

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You people think that you tell people don't go to

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Spotify that they're gonna listen. It's not true at all,

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he says. And that's why I don't buy into the

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hype you sell on these newsletters and the Matrics minute anymore.

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You talk about strategy, reality and truth, but at the

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end of the day, you're still selling the same core

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ideas that this is a this is winnable if you're

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smart enough. It is winnable if you're smart enough. The

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most winning coach in the NFL, Don Shula, said, winners

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blame themselves, losers blame others. That's just the way it is.

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You can win if you're smart enough. Okay, I've never

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said you can buy a Bugatti or you're gonna headline

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an arena. I've always said that you can be proud

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of the work you do, that you can make money

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doing this, you can have an impact on the world.

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But you have to be smart.

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If you are spending money on Instagram ads and you

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just keep throwing money down the Instagram money line and

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it's not working, that's not being smart, now, is it.

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If you're only looking to network with people so you

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can get something out of it that actually goes against

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matrics minutes I talked about nine years ago. So that's

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not smart, now, is it? He says, Because you preach

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that if artists just understand the business better, they can

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outmaneuver a system that was never designed for them in

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the first place. Yes, you can. It's called the breakout hit.

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It's called the breakout artist. It's called the artists who

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aren't signed, who are selling out arenas. These days, it's

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artists like No Big Deal, the rapper who's got over

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one point two million monthly listeners on Spotify, who's on

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tours all the time, completely indie. There's artist artists, there's

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artists after artist who is like that. He says, That's

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the part I think is dishonest about you, because the

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real truth is this, most artists will never win, not

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because they are lazy or untalented, but because the system

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doesn't need them to there isn't okay. Is there manufactured

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artist in the music industry?

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Yes? Is there nepo babies in the music industry? Yes?

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Does the music industry manufacture artists? Yes, they've done it

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since the beginning of the music industry. But because of

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the Internet, and see the Internet all you know, artists

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like you love to crap on algorithms on the Internet

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and you want to go back to purer times and

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all this stuff. The Internet has broken this system because

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now you get to be on the same platform as

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the majors, as the heavy hitters. Back in the day

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before streaming, you couldn't get your CD and best buy

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to be next to the heavy hitters. So now you

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have to make sure you get as many people as

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possible to discover and listen to your music. It takes time.

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There is a lot of rejection with that. There are

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gonna be a lot of times your post ain't gonna

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reach people. But you don't throw your hands up and

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call everything a scam. And this isn't meant to be

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And Boah tell me in life where it is supposed

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to be easy, where he says it's not because they

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are lazy or untalented, but because the system doesn't need

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them to. Streaming needs content, social media needs noise, label

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needs options, and artists are the raw material. You might

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not say it like that, but that's the machine you're

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teaching people how to survive inside of, not escape from. Okay,

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escape okay, Bob, wherever you're at, you don't tell me

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this is I understand why they don't want me to

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read this email beforehand. Okay, here, let's break this down.

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Get off of streaming. Pull your music off of Spotify,

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pull your music off of Apple Music, pull your music

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off of YouTube. Done social media.

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Cancel your Instagram, cancel your TikTok, cancel your Facebook. Done.

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Just be raw man, Just be a purist. Go play

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your little show in your little town. You probably got

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some CDRs you want to burn. Go do it that way.

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Tell me how that works out. See, now you're off

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the music industry grid. Now you can do whatever you want.

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Go do that.

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Tell me how that works out for you.

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Email me back or no.

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You're gonna be off the internet, so you're gonna have

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to send me a letter in the mail and tell

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me how this works.

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Since it's all.

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Crap anyways, But you might not say it like that,

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but that's the machine you're telling people. You're teaching people

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how to survive inside of, not escape from.

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Okay, escape from it.

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Pull your music off the streaming services, Get off of

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every social media. Go back to grassroots, baby flyers, bright

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pink flyers, post them on telephone polls.

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Go do it. Get off.

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The machine's wrong. I'm full of crap. The music industry

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is a scam.

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Go for it. You got the answers, prove it. Prove

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it right now.

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If you have the guts to email on me back

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at Matthew Rigs dot com. Let me know your Instagram pages,

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let me know your Spotify name is.

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I will.

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I will wait for the day that you delete everything

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so you're not part of the machine anymore, because then

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you'll have nothing to complain about. Because see right now,

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for artists, it's easy for them to complain about Spotify.

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It's easy for them to complain about the algorithm because

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they don't have to take any responsibility for why.

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It's not working for them. And you're doing it right now,

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he says.

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So, yeah, when I hear you break down another email

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and say here's what you should do, all I hear

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is another version of keep playing, keep investing time, keep believing,

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keep hoping you're the exception. I'm done with that. I

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don't think the music industry is broken. I think it's

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working exactly as intended. Yes, but people break through that

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all the time. That's when, all of a sudden, you

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got an artist who pops, and now everybody's scrambling and

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try to sign them. You got an artist that pops,

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and everybody's trying to figure out how to get to them.

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That happens all the time. And yes, I will keep

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telling people what to do, not to spend their money

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in stupid places, not to be better. Realize that the

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fact that you have a fan base, regardless of how

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small it is, that people are invested in and that

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they're rooting for you, and that you get to create

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music and create art and express yourself, that's a gift

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right there.

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It really is, he says.

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And I don't think there's really any point in trying

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to win a game where the house decides the rules

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after you've already paid to sit at the table. Okay,

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get once again, get off of Spotify, get off of Instagram,

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get off of Apple Music, get off of YouTube, get

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off the grid, go for it, prove us all wrong,

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sell your fifty thousand CDRs out of the back of

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your car. Beat the man, beat the system. He says,

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you can call you can call that pessimism if you want.

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I call it clarity. No, I call it being defeated.

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I call it being a butt hurt baby. I call

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it you put some money into something that didn't work out,

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and now you're blowing up the whole thing and accusing

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everybody of selling hopium and it's a scam and all

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of this. Yes, it is pessimism at the worst, at

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the worst type, because you're just a butt hurt little boy.

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Trying to protect everybody from the music I didn't succeed

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in the music industry.

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Hmm, he says. I'm not asking you to change. The TMU,

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Gordon Ramsey will never change. You've been doing this for

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too long, the TMU Gordon Ramsey. I just want you

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to know that not everyone watching your channel feels inspired.

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I'm not trying to inspire people.

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This is not self help, music industry edition. Okay. I'm

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not here blowing smoke up your skirt telling you everything

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is wonderful. There are snakes in this industry. This industry

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is hard to win, but it's not impossible. You got

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to understand the game you're playing to win the game,

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and the music industry is a game. Everything in life

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is a game.

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Some of us hear hype dressed up as realism, and

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we're tired of being told that the problem is us

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for finally seeing it.

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No, you're just a butt, hurt child, man. I guarantee you.

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You're probably probably close to forty, probably close to my age.

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You probably make music that's not relevant. You're probably just

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a complete another nightmare of a person to be around.

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You're probably pissed off and annoyed at everybody. You probably

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piss off and annoy everybody. You like to be the

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purest here. You complain about the algorithm, but you're probably

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on it. You complain about Spotify, but you're probably on it.

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And then you fire emails off like this because you're

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so sad that nothing has worked, and so you're gonna

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blame me in the music industry and instead of blame

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yourself and deviate and change and figure out what worked,

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expand on that versus what didn't work, and if it

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didn't work, remove it.

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But you would never do that.

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He says, thanks for nothing, Bob, Well, I am. I'm

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glad that we read this for the first time together,

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because this is the problem when you have artists too,

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and they do it in my comments, in the videos,

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and we get the emails that we don't post. So

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they just blame everybody for everything. Everything is everybody else's

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fault with there. Maybe the fact that they don't make

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good music, or maybe the fact that they don't make

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relevant music, or maybe the fact that their social media

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game sucks, or maybe the fact that they've had opportunities

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and they've pissed I everybody off and nobody wants to

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work with them anymore. No, it's not that it's the machine,

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it's the algorithm. It happens all the time. I can

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read an email, I can see a comment. I could

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shake somebody's hand and tell you how miserable of a

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person they are right out.

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Of the gate. This is one of them right here.

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But anyways, if you have a question on the music

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industry that you'd like for me to answer, just go

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to Matthew Rigs dot com click submit your question, give

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me as many details as possible. We will answer it

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here on the channel until next time. I am Matthew

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Rigs and I will talk to you later