Reader / friend, welcome (back) to 𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎𝚜. In the era of platform decay, I'm setting up this space as an alternative channel to talk about music, music infrastructure, and some related projects I've been developing for a little while now. I've had a longstanding interest in systems & networks, and when these things intersect with music the way they are now, my mind doesn't stop turning.

The ways in which music circulates are fragmenting. This doesn't have to be a bad thing, because the major platforms are parasitic and unaccountable to anyone but shareholders. As they continue to degrade, the musical zeitgeist migrates into new spaces. These migrations are what I hope to trace here.

𝚛𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝚋𝚕𝚞𝚎𝚜 is split into three streams –

1. 𝙰𝚕𝚝 𝙸𝚗𝚏𝚛𝚊: mapping alternative infrastructures for loving music
2. 𝙻𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙: perspectives on contemporary music via mixes and group listening
3. 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌: updates on my own music for those who care to follow along

𝙰𝚕𝚝 𝙸𝚗𝚏𝚛𝚊 will explore scenes, network resilience, new institutions, and the how we can facilitate a deeper engagement with music than is currently on offer. My aim is to keep things practical, discussing useful existing models as well as keeping tabs on new efforts.

I'll avoid critique of existing systems except where it feels useful. Many others have done valuable work here and I'd rather just point to theirs rather than summarize and retread. Instead the orienting question for 𝙰𝚕𝚝 𝙸𝚗𝚏𝚛𝚊 will be Where to?

𝙻𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙶𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚙 will offer mixes and context on mostly current music, with a light emphasis on scenes and undergrounds that exist apart from or in critical engagement with the larger industry.

And 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚌 is where you can keep up with my own music output, should you care to.

Subscriptions can be to any combination of the above, and the model is pay-what-you-want (or not at all). For adaptive reasons, there might emerge a couple layers of access / legibility, figured less on subscription amount than on trust and interest.

More on all of this soon. My sincere thanks to anyone following along.