THE ALGORITHM IS NOT MADE FOR YOU.IT’S MADE FOR TECH COMPANIES TO CONTROL YOU.

THEY SAY IT’S OPTIMIZED FOR DISCOVERYBUT IT’S MADE TO KEEP YOU SCROLLING.

THOSE ARE NOT THE SAME THING.

THE PROBLEM

The streaming era promised to solve the music industry’s problems through ultra-convenient tech. Instead, it became a tool for those with power to take advantage of artists and listeners alike. When algorithms determine what you hear and fake-able stats determine what’s popular, how can you prove anything is authentic or even human-made? You can’t.

The result is predictable: independent artists buried under popularity bias, niche genres starved of visibility, and a music landscape remade in the image of what’s already trending. Those who resist are obscured. Those who capitulate lose their purpose. And despite the constant creation of great music by working artists, a world built to satisfy streaming companies and major labels produces worse music than a world centered around humans ever could.

ROGUE.FM IS A REFUSAL.

WHAT WE DO

ROGUE.FM is a weekly drop service run by humans for humans. Every week, one curator from our community hand-selects 10 tracks. No algorithm decides the list, only a human. No engagement data shapes it, only human choices. No popularity bias corrupts it, only human taste. And, most importantly, anybody can be a curator, not just industry insiders.

Each track selected by our curators will feature a direct link to buy the song and nothing else. First and foremost, we are about what is best for artists and fans. And the best way to serve that goal is to completely prevent links to predatory platforms from existing in spaces meant for human artists.

THE RULES

ONE CURATOR. ONE WEEK. TEN TRACKS.

This allows for true community involvement and authentic curation. There’s no “senior editor” making all the choices on behalf of a record label or an algorithm trying to manipulate you.

NO ALGORITHM.

Human selections only that are labeled and tagged to benefit artists as much as possible.

BUY, DON'T STREAM.

Every track submitted must come with a direct buy-link. We will only show song previews from stores, not streaming platforms.

SUPPORT ARTISTS DIRECTLY.

We won’t even give you a chance to find our selections on Spotify because every track purchase is worth 3,000 streams.

HUMAN MUSIC ONLY.

No AI-generated music whatsoever. If we find any non-human work, we’ll take down your drop and ban you from the platform.

NO ENGAGEMENT METRICS.

The only analytics we track are to support artists and we will never, ever use data to sway how music is selected on the site.

ARCHIVAL MATTERS.

You’ll be able to search and filter every track ever selected on the platform. Discovering music isn’t just finding the new, it’s finding the old too.

REJECT THE INDUSTRY.

Every time you support an artist who’s featured on ROGUE.FM you are sending the signal to the industry that their time is over and the time of human artists is NOW.

WHO CURATES

You do. The DJ throwing events every weekend. The label intern tired of industry norms. The friend who always takes over the aux. If you have taste and conviction, you’re qualified. That’s it.

We’re starting with a limited pool while the platform launches, but curator applications will eventually open to everyone. Once approved, you get a personalized submission key and a platform to track your selections.

WHY NOW

The streaming model has proven that it is actively hostile towards artists, and it is time to bury it in the ground. ROGUE.FM is built by a team of artists and we directly understand and empathize with the plight of our peers. We built this platform because this is what we wish existed in the world and it needs to happen now before tech companies take any more power from working individuals.

SUPPORT ARTISTS DIRECTLY.SUPPORT HUMAN CURATION.GO ROGUE.