foreplai

About foreplai

A 20+ year obsession with paying for music online.

I first had the idea for a pay-for-play music app in the early 2000s when I sorted the songs in my iTunes library by the number of plays. Some tracks had 100s, and I was struck by how much joy each one brought me for so little money. Even then, $.99 per track or $9.99 per album was a steal.

Unfortunately, stealing was cheaper. Worse, sharing files was the only way to introduce my family and friends to my favourite music.

Because I paid once and never again, and others didn’t pay, my favourite artists and labels never earned another cent from me outside of shows and merch. Yet the value of that music to me only increased over time.

Revenue-sharing services make the problem worse.

Ad-supported and paid streaming subscriptions appear to solve the problem with monthly revenue for rights holders. However, the royalty payments are so pitifully low (and dropping), and the rules are so onerous (and worsening) that many musicians do not earn any money for their labour. That’s not okay.

The reason is simple: leading platforms exist to return riches to themselves and a select few at the top. They depress the value of music to maximise their profits.

Because I paid once and never again, and others didn’t pay, my favourite artists and labels never earned another cent from me outside of shows and merch. Yet the value of that music to me only increased over time.

Cheap experiences cost a fortune.

I spent more money on music as a broke 25-year-old than I do now (many years later).

These services allocate value and attention poorly. They are rapidly enshitifying, and everyone—artists, labels, rights holders, and fans—suffers.

foreplai exists to change the economics and experience of streaming music for the better. Our values guide our work: