Our library recently reduced the number of Hoopla checkouts per person per month to 5. They explained that Hoopla charges the library for each checkout; a single audiobook can be $3.99. This model became prohibitively expensive as more people used the services.

Thinking about the science fiction novel We Are Satellites by Sarah Pinsker (which features brain implants that increase focus and a family in which two get it and two don't). Spoiler alert: not everything goes smoothly.

7/8 4) Go see live music, especially independent musicians! (That could be a whole other post.)

6/8 3) Support musicians' Patreons, paying a small amount each month so they have a guaranteed cash flow.

5/8 2) Crowdfund albums. This involves paying musicians before the album is released; different levels have different perks (early digital release, physical merch, special items, etc.). Music is a low-risk crowdfunding endeavor; unlike other genres, I've never had an album not come to fruition.

4/8 1) Buy the music you like on Bandcamp. Pay $15 for that album. Then, keep on listening to it on a streaming service guilt-free if that's what works for you.

3/8 If you also believe that musicians deserve to be paid, here are some ways to financially support artists more directly:

2/8 Musicians get paid as little as $0.003 per stream and get nothing if a song is streamed fewer than 1000 times in a year. This means that 5000 streams could be $15 (the equivalent of selling one CD).