Alex Roth Music

Today, a new platform called Subvert launches publicly. Uniquely, Subvert is structured as a co-operative of over 20,000 members: artists, labels, supporters, and workers. In other words: a marketplace for music collectively owned by the people who use it, rather than by a corporation or investors.

I’ve been involved since the very early stages of its development. I joined very early on (proud member #118) because, having gotten to know its founder Austin Robey through an online residency with Metalabel and subsequently met up with him in NYC in 2023, I really believe in the vision behind it: essentially a collectively owned version of Bandcamp.

I've been using Bandcamp as both a supporter and an artist since its early days, and I continue to upload my music there. But given what’s happened with the platform over the past few years—sold first to Epic Games and then again to Songtradr—I think a lot of us have been asking what a more sustainable and artist-centred alternative could look like. Subvert is IMO the closest anyone has come to answering that question.

Unlike Bandcamp, Subvert takes 0% of payments to artists. Instead, when you purchase music on the platform, you'll see an option to contribute an additional amount to help keep Subvert community-owned.

To celebrate Subvert's launch, I’ve uploaded my new release (Dis)possessed there as well. It’s slightly cheaper than on Bandcamp, with an additional discount for Subvert members. Check it out here:

(Dis)possessed by Alex Roth - Subvert "There’s a real beauty here... a moving experience." - Dominic Valvona, Monolith Cocktail This music was created for a sound installation commissioned by Warsaw's POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews as part of a 2024 exhibition celebrating its 10th anniversary. The installation was subseque...

"There’s a real beauty here... a moving experience."

Many thanks to Dominic Valvona for this attentive and detailed review of (Dis)possessed for Monolith Cocktail 🙏

Link below.

Anyone know how to listen to a BBC Radio 3 show that's no longer available online?

I just found out thanks to a royalty payment that my piece Bone Palace Ballet (written for and recorded by London Symphony Orchestra) was played on this episode of Words and Music back in 2024, alongside music by Beethoven, Janáček, Eno, and von Bingen.

Belated happy birthday to Reactor One, released on 7 April 2023, which for some reason has been getting a lot of attention on Bandcamp this week.

About time for Reactor Two, I think...

Happy 2nd birthday to Esz Kodesz—an album that represents the culmination of a very important time in my life.

Listen via link below.