The internet era has reversed how we understand business models. Quantity doesn’t matter as much as quality. Mass appeal takes a back seat to having a niche.

Take music for instance. Once the only way to distribute music was via vinyl, then tape, then CD. One day along came digital music aggregators, with it Spotify and Apple Music, and the game as changed forever.

The record label model was no longer the only way to make music. Aggregation platforms connect the user with their niche almost instantly. Take, for instance, Youtube channels that exist solely to aggregate niche music.

Funky Panda is a prominent one I follow. They specialise in ElectroSwing, NuDisco, Trip Hop, and Retrowave– genres that combine modern sensibilities with old styles.

Small time artists with niche audiences– Annella, Jamie Berry, Revolucien and more– flourish on Funky Panda. They don’t have to compete for attention with each other if they’re all in the one place. There they can focus on producing the best content they can, rather than the most. That keeps the audience there because quality holds attention.

I like vinyl (ask me about my Pink Floyd vinyl, please).

I like Funky Panda.

One’s legacy, one’s new.

That dichotomy doesn’t matter. Music will only ever play one way.

What matters is whether that media has what I want to play. Every media is a medium, and that medium has to have accessibility to the things I want.

Because like a bored teen with a car radio, I’ll choose whatever gets my attention.