FOREPLAI blog

Posted on Aug 8, 2025, 09:01 by scott truitt

Of all the things that make me happy about our new site, the one that tops them all is the Network effects visualisation.

Posted on Aug 6, 2025, 08:49 by scott truitt

Thanks to all who responded with feedback yesterday, whether with issues or encouragement. It’s always gratifying to see the people I care about most notice our work, even when we fall short. Note to self: Always test again after deleting a domain configuration that seemed irrelevant before emailing and posting widely. That’s why the images weren’t loading and the links didn’t work. It should be good now. I wanted to mention something about the messaging on the new site, particularly on th

Posted on Aug 5, 2025, 12:18 by scott truitt

If you’re reading this on foreplai.com, you’re seeing our new site and our refreshed blog now running on Ghost(Pro). And if you received this post via email, that’s because I migrated our email lists to Ghost. You may unsubscribe below. Until today, I posted almost exclusively on LinkedIn first. It never felt like the best place for it, but it was simply where most of my network was after I quit Twitter in 2022. I tried WordPress, which was what I ran in the early days of blogging, but it felt

Posted on Aug 4, 2025, 09:08 by sct

The idea that software is suddenly easy now because of AI is a fallacy at best or a ruse at worst. Especially when it comes to streaming music. And I say that as someone who is consistently in awe of what AI can do for software development. Presuming your product or service requires the legal rights to use music, which it absolutely should, the heavy lifting is all on securing complex agreements in multiple territories with an almost infinite number of parties or costly upfront payments for gl

Posted on Aug 3, 2025, 08:21 by sct

I have a new Sunday morning ritual: reading and reflecting on all the posts and links I saved over the previous week because I wasn’t in the headspace or didn’t have the time to give it. I saw an intro to a piece from Anna Branten—somehow, I had not come across her work before—and instantly knew I would love it. Surprising no one who knows me, her conclusion resonated the most: We must stop treating value extraction as innovation. When a company builds its success by underpaying creators, outs

Posted on Jul 24, 2025, 23:00 by sct

We live in a digital world. It feels strange to say it in 2025, but it’s true, and even I forget to step back and think about what that means. From my teenage years in the 1990s until now, the internet has been my constant companion, shaping both my work and play. It’s a part of me, like the air I breathe, the water I drink, and the food I eat. However, over the past 30-odd years, we’ve witnessed a shift from the early, hopeful days of the internet—when it was about connection, inclusion, univ

Posted on Jul 14, 2025, 23:00 by sct

Of all the things I did and all the decisions I made over the past year of building FOREPLAI, nothing has been more controversial than our name. I’ve questioned my wisdom, or lack thereof, more than anyone else. I know it complicates intros and first discussions. However, I didn’t name it for myself, our team, partners, or investors. I named it for the distracted masses. Those who face the daily deluge of unimaginative marketing from thoroughly unremarkable companies. Each one is desperate f

Posted on Jul 12, 2025, 23:00 by sct

My experience in the music industry is slim, but I have studied the tech industry from the inside and out for 30 years. And I can say the following sentence with complete confidence: This moment is as good as it will ever be in the current system. It will only worsen from here, as it has since the needs of platform companies became more important than those of independent artists, labels, and fans. Spotify, YouTube, and the others will not suddenly come to their senses and decide to pay more

Posted on Jul 6, 2025, 23:00 by sct

In the early days of foreplai, we decided not to launch without securing the rights to the music we wanted to sell. That’s a lie. There was never any debate. It was always the only way. The original inspiration for foreplai came to me in the late ’90s and early 2000s. I wanted a way to share music with my friends that didn’t take away from the artist. I also wanted a way to show my gratitude and continued support by paying a small amount of money for every play. I would never even consider “t

Posted on Jul 2, 2025, 05:43 by sct

Modern music has always had someone or something—labels, agents, lawyers, managers, publicists, distributors, and more—between artists and fans. Many are thoughtful and transformative. Some are dreadful and destructive. However, even the worst of all is no match for today’s dominant intermediaries, social and streaming companies. They emerged over the last decade with weaponised technology, unprecedented reach, and brazen leaders willing to do anything for power and profit. And they are destro

Posted on Jun 30, 2025, 08:46 by sct

I didn’t go to Glastonbury this weekend, and I’m sad to say I’ve never been. However, the combination of an exhausting week and extreme heat led to a lazy weekend spent watching much of the spectacle from my sofa, courtesy of the BBC. And I was treated to a show unlike any other, blending genres, genealogies, generations, and genders on stage and in the crowd. It was a celebration of humanity, focused on the immense creativity of a few thousand artists and shared with a massive, momentary com

Posted on Jun 28, 2025, 08:23 by sct

“We bring music to fans and fans to music.” That sentence came to me on an otherwise routine morning walk with the pup last weekend. Bear in mind that I have spent the better part of the last year writing about our purpose, product, and plans for the future at FOREPLAI, as well as over 25 years thinking about the ideas behind it. I never, ever approached anything as elegant or straightforward as this one sentence. It says everything in nine words. And it reminds me of a favourite anecdote ab