The rise of the buy-more era - Mia Bailey, BHASVIC

I was listening to music yesterday when, in the midst of a particularly profound collection of songs (Les Misérables 20th Anniversary), some disjointed rap and heavy-handed bass assaulted my ears. An irritated check of my phone confirmed what I already knew. It was time for the ‘ads’. It always amuses me how certain apps portray themselves as gratuitously bestowing their services upon the common man, asking nothing in return except the listener’s undivided attention for a few minutes every half-hour, in which it attempts to sell them a version where this is entirely avoidable. Essentially, give us your money and we’ll stop bothering you.