Jazz and Spotify: How Streaming is Reshaping Jazz for Listeners and Artists Alike

How are streaming services like Spotify altering the shape of jazz to come? Liz Pelly is the author of the national bestseller Mood Machine, a critical investigation into Spotify that examines both sides of what the company calls its two-sided marketplace: the listeners who pay with their dollars and data, and the musicians who provide the material powering it all. This panel unpacks Pelly's findings to explore how artists and audiences can build a sustainable future. Joining Pelly is Joey La Neve DeFrancesco, co-founder of United Musicians and Allied Workers, which reintroduced the Living Wage for Musicians Act to Congress in Fall 2025; and bassist, improviser-composer, organizer, and writer-researcher Luke Stewart.

Moderator: Katie Simon (NPR)
Panelists: Liz Pelly (Author of Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist); Joey La Neve DeFrancesco (Co-founder of United Musicians and Allied Workers); Luke Stewart