Music makes life better.

"The way I see it, being an independent music artist is best suited for me.  I don't have to hate Spotify since I don't have the huge overhead of other band mates, management or record labels taking a cut of what they pay me.  I don't have to hate Youtube either since they also pay well when listeners click an ad while listening to my songs. To me it's sort of like being paid to advertise my music.  I don't even mind people who pirate my songs either. It's quite flattering actually to take the time to extract my tracks from legal sites and it ultimately it helps spread the word.

When it comes right down to it, even thought I do make money from my songs, I don't need it to sustain myself or my songwriting. That is incredibly liberating and ultimately that is what artists crave most. Freedom to express themselves without any ulterior motive beyond creative authenticity.

What I do care about is knowing when people listen and what tracks they are most enjoying. This is important, not to help alter my style or anything like that but to help me know when I've made a "connection" with others.  This is also something artists care deeply about and is the only reason I even put my music out there.  Music helps us all cope and enjoy life more. It's been that way for me with the music artists I love.  If I can do that for just one person, that is worth more to me than any dollar amount." -Enzo