Vic Mensa has spoken on the emotional toll the music industry takes on artistes in the streaming era
Ghanaian American rapper Vic Mensa has spoken on the emotional toll the music industry takes on artistes in the streaming era.
In a post on his social media page on June 3, 2025, the “U Mad”, rapper revealed the emotional toll the streaming era is having on musicians.
According to Vic Mensa, he broke down in tears while in the shower, overwhelmed by thoughts of how the value of an artiste’s work has been reduced in the current digital age.
He expressed how difficult it is for musicians to cope with the way their efforts are often overlooked or underappreciated.
“Just broke down in the shower, thinking about the weight of being an artiste in a time when work is so devalued and depreciated, the impact on the mental health of artistes this streaming era has created,” he shared.
The rapper also touched on a moment when someone questioned why they should pay $10 to support one artiste directly when that same amount could get them access to millions of songs on a streaming platform.
According to Vic Mensa at first, he thought that was a flawed way of thinking but later admitted that it made him realise how this mindset affects artistes emotionally.
He pointed out new platforms like James Blake’s Vault, which allows artistes to sell unreleased music directly to fans, as one possible way to address the issue.
However, he noted that it’s still difficult to convince people that music is worth more than just pennies.
“At the time, I was like, you know, that’s so fried of a mentality, but today, it kind of hit me how it impacts the mental health of artistes. People feel like, ‘That shit not worth $10?’ It’s heartbreaking, but it’s hilarious at the same time, like not worth 10 bucks.
“Artistes are already people that are predisposed to suicide … and to add to that a dimension of economic inequity so profound that not even the record labels know what to do about this. They don’t even know how to get the money right now,” he added.
immense fear in posting this, but it’s real.
i know so many of you make music, & all of us love music. are we caring for the people that create it? pic.twitter.com/lMxqeBZNBS
— Vic Mensa (@VicMensa) June 3, 2025
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