More and more music streaming platforms have paywalls behind them. From monthly subscriptions, to special access being granted to paying users. With everything having a paywall behind them, more and more people will step away due to lack of funds and accessibility.

I remember the amount of separate, deluxe, remix, etc. albums Taylor Swift would release of the exact same album, all to up her streams and make her way up in the charts.

Many people called her out for wanting to top the charts and overthrow Billie Eilish and Charli XCX"s spots on the charts, calling her selfish, greedy, and unprofessional.

Nowadays, it's becoming increasingly common for musicians to care more about streams and topping charts than about making art and using music as a form of art and storytelling.

This is a really interesting take, as it shows how despite how popular someone may be online, their streaming numbers may not equate to how much money or revenue they receive from their music. It's unfortunately becoming quite common for musicians--and other artists who are in acting or writing--to not be able to afford to live, One example is when Chappell Roan said during her Grammy speech, "I told myself, if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and health care, especially to developing artists." And more recently, actor Jack Haven, has spoken out about they are in desperate need of a job in order to afford health insurance.

The topic and discussion of data farming and acquiring and processing data on consumers as a company/business/brand/etc. is both an effective tool in marketing, and, unfortunately, a product of a surveillance state. Business-wise, it is vital and crucial for a business to keep up with the latest trends and review what their customers and target audience find interesting and popular, but it's also important to stand out and not lose sight of your morals and beliefs and ideologies as a company, i.e. "sell out" and, ultimately, lose trust or interest from customers for the sake of profit. Overall, this is a very nuanced conversation. 1) As a business, especially with the rampant rise in social media, it's important to be up to date on the latest trends. 2) Make sure you don't come off as "hopping on the bandwagon" just for profit. Instead, be independent and maintain your core values as a brand in order to maintain trust with your customers/audience.

Many businesses who have a digital social media presence or platform often keep up to date on certain topics or trends so they can have their brand relate to their specific target audience. Back during my internship in social media marketing earlier this year during my undergrad, a part of my job was to be up to date on the latest trending quotes, layouts, music, etcetera. and figure out how to apply them to our posts and social media account to gain a larger social media presence and be more recognized online.

It's one thing to have a social media account and promote your business on there, but you have to understand your audience and figure out a way to reach out to them, fin their niche, and appeal to them and their interests.

While businesses, brands, corporations, etc. data farming is becoming more and more prominent nowadays--especially with the rise of social media and tailored algorithms--it is something important to notice what with the rise of a surveillance state in the US.