GHOSTING SPOTIFY WITH KATE KELLEN
Kate Ellen and I (mostly Kate!) wrote ‘Ghosting Spotify: A How-To Guide‘ which got people talking.
We laid out why she pulled her music from Spotify: the streams weren’t translating into real support, and the platform made it almost impossible to build direct relationships with listeners.
We talked about how Spotify keeps people inside its walls, as listeners don’t click through to emails, don’t buy vinyl, don’t follow links. The listening numbers might look cool on paper, but they rarely lead to anything that pays the bills or creates momentum. Leaving forced Katie to focus on places where people actually show up, like Bandcamp, her website, and her email list.
Once she made that shift, she started seeing repeat buyers and more meaningful conversations. We dug into how owning the audience gives you room to experiment — releasing small projects, selling limited runs, offering commissions — instead of hoping a playlist bump solves everything.
The takeaway wasn’t “streaming is evil,” but that depending on Spotify (or social media!) as the center of your work keeps you stuck waiting for something that rarely materializes.
💬 Questions or thoughts? Send me an email.
In this 90 minute Zoom call we're building a real link-in-bio page together. You'll start with a template, make it yours, and publish it to a real web server before we say goodbye. And we'll be using totally free tools. No monthly plans. Zero experience needed. Sign up here.
Live sessions weekly: Co-working (Tuesdays at 12pm EST), Escape Pod group calls (Thursdays at 2pm EST, monthly special guests), and occasional Mini Q&A sessions. Start with a one month membership here.
READ MORE POSTS ABOUT:

I help creative people quit social media, promote their work in sustainable ways, and rethink how a website and newsletter can work together. Find out more here. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Join us — start a 30 day membership and hop on our next Zoom call meeting!
Email me: seth@socialmediaescape.club
Subscribe via RSS


