What does Crucial Tracks stand for?
Music is the art form that connects us as humans.
Music also connects us to our memories.
Crucial Tracks gives us the ability to share our stories and appreciate the role music plays in our lives. Every song we share has humanity and life experience behind it, which is something we can all relate to, even if you don't "understand" or like the song.
What will you get with Crucial Tracks?
No unhealthy incentives
No ads, no algorithm… no chasing likes, followers, or viral posts. Serendipity reigns!
Everyone is welcome
Music is a universal language, both as a way to share stories and learn about other types of people. Empathy is a key part of experiencing music. With that said, no hate or mistreatment of other members will be tolerated on the site. With no comments or unhealthy incentives, most problems should be eliminated... but everyone should feel safe sharing their stories.
Crucial Tracks will be SLOW
and that will take some getting used to (me included!) One post per day means no high speed firehose, where there's constantly something new for you to view.
Data freedom
Not only can you export your posts, but RSS allows you to send your content anywhere.
No integration with algorithmic, centralized, corporate-owned social media, ever
It’s time to get off those sites for good. You can do whatever you want with the RSS feed, but that’s as much as you will get from me. Again, not sorry.
No Spotify, ever, sorry
Apple Music (and Bandcamp and YouTube) isn’t perfect, but Spotify are just bad faith actors (and wannabe military contractors) in the music and entertainment industry. Actually, I’m not sorry.
I'm going to do my best to keep this feeling going, but I also understand we've been getting trained over the last 20+ years for "engagement", through algorithms and just getting bombarded with information, likes, views, and comments. The slowness might be hard to handle at first, but I want this site to be different. I just hope that feeling is enough to keep folks interested and coming back.
Ultimately, I think the internet needs more weird, focused small communities. That’s what made the web so exciting when I first got access in the early/mid 90s and I hope my little project helps bring that feeling back in some way. (And maybe, just maybe, it will be a gateway for more folks to get their own site and blog.)
It feels like a radical idea, so I'll have my fingers crossed.
-- ❤️ Jason