This week, the girlies log on to discuss the strange and somewhat evil journey of content streaming. They track the rise from radio to Napster to Netflix, expose how labels teamed up with platforms to rob artists blind, and unpack how mood playlists and background noise culture encourage you to passively consume your music, not listen to it. They also hear from binchies who have done away with streaming entirely, and talk about hopeful alternatives for finding and interacting with art you love. Digressions include: Matt Rife’s new haunting business venture, Katy Perry’s stay at the Khia Asylum, and unfortunately, hitting the Sydney Sweeney button.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Eliza McLamb and edited by Livi Burdette. Research assistance from Kylie Finnigan.

To support the podcast on Patreon and access 50+ bonus episodes, mediasodes, zoom hangouts and more, visit patreon.com/binchtopia and become a patron today.

SOURCES

A cultural lineage of streaming 

Adolescent Mental Health in the Digital Age: Facts, Fears and Future Directions

be your own algorithm (video)

Binge Watching as a Young Adult Linked to Cognitive Impairment: Study

Mood Machine by Liz Pelly

Netflix Reveals the Shows That You Binge Watched the Fastest 

Netflix’s 'Skip Intro' Button Makes TV Ever More Like an App

Stream a Little Dream: How Netflix Turned Our Culture into Content  

Streaming Culture by David Arditi

Swedish composer becomes Spotify’s most-famous musician you’ve never heard of

The Algorithm Killed the Radio Star by Eliza McLamb

The Best Streaming Services For 2025  

The Death of the Artist by William Deresiewicz

The Death of the Artist—and the Birth of the Creative Entrepreneur 

The Evolution and Impact of Streaming Services: Changing the Media Landscape 

The Ghosts in the Machine 

The Oxford Handbook of Radio and Podcasting 

The Right to Art by Eliza McLamb

The Telephonoscope (1879)

This ‘secret’ composer is behind 650 fake artists on Spotify. His music has been streamed 15bn times on the platform (report) 

83% of U.S. adults use streaming services, far fewer subscribe to cable or satellite TV