Drawing on his research into music scenes, social media platforms and capital flows, Max explores how anti-platform sentiment has expanded beyond Spotify discourse. While Bandcamp or SoundCloud exist as alternatives to streaming platforms, Instagram’s grip on visibility is harder to escape.

Max points to a recent wave of independent gig calendars as “green shoots” of post-platform imagination. Sites like Brainwave Moshers and Naarm Sound recall earlier internet forums, and respond directly to the enshittification of commercial platforms.