What do Adele, Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Coldplay, and AC/DC have in common? They all refused to have their music played on Spotify and other music streaming services, because they think that they and other artists are not compensated fairly for their music.

I believe that unless artists offer the music for free, we should pay for the music we listen to. There are many benefits to both the artists and to listeners when we pay for our music. Music is a form of art and the artists who create it should be compensated for their creativity and artistic skill just as professional athletes are compensated for their athletic talent and business leaders are compensated for their knowledge. Art is often undervalued in our society. As noted by Taylor Swift in Time Magazine, “I think there should be an inherent value placed on art… I think that people should feel that there is a value to what musicians have created."

While Taylor Swift and other top artists are certainly making a lot of money, the real challenge is for less famous or independent artists. Some of them are barely making enough money to get by. They end up making most of their money on shows and tours and so they have to travel continuously which means they do not have as much time to write and record. If they were compensated better for writing and recording, then there would be more diverse and creative music available and we would all benefit.

The amount of money it costs to pay for streaming services or buy a song is not very much, especially since many streaming services give discounts to college students. Usually the cost per month is no more than one caramel latte from Starbucks or a late night slice of pizza. But the benefit to the artists is great. Artists deserve to be compensated for their creative products. And, paying customers can pressure streaming and download services to pay artists better which may bring back the big names like Adele, Jason Aldean and Coldplay, which would benefit us as well.

Paying for music is not a new idea. In fact, our parents did it all the time when they were younger. And paying for music meant they really treasured the music they bought. In fact, many middle-aged adults have still kept their beloved albums from their teenage and college years even though they no longer have a turntable to play the music. Paying for music helps you value your music.

So consider paying for your music. It will benefit the artists and all of us who listen to music.