Oh, I know, some of us like it. I like sharing music, so Spotify is about the only way to do it. But, as a musician streaming services abuse of the DCA (digital copyright act) we’ve all been relegated to serfs. Yeah, Spotify’s stock tanked yesterday, despite increasing subscribers. But they made a huge bet on podcasts. And guess what, no one cares. You can stream podcasts on a lot of platforms. No one seems to be hitting up Spotify for podcast recommendations or exclusives.
Here’s yesterday’s news:
Spotify dropped a dud, revealing widening losses due to its failed podcasting investments and projecting lower revenue than analysts predicted. And its stock plunge came despite adding a record number of new subscribers.
And here’s the thing. The executive leadership of Spotify are not going unpaid. They are making millions. Each. And you know what they are paying most of the artists you love? Bupkus. Nada. Nothing. I pay more to have my music available to Spotify than I will ever recoup. It’s bullshit. Oh yes, I know they promote how much they actually pay out. I can assure you that your favorite local bands are not getting much from them. The ones with big labels and big legal teams (Rolling Stones, Adell, U2, Bionce) are getting some money. But most of us, receive ZERO COMPENSATION for our work.
The argument is this: Spotify distribution is good for your band, for EXPOSURE. Guess what doesn’t pay rent or buy new strings? Exposure.
Until the music business goes through what Hollywood is going through right now, we (the small artists) will not see a penny from Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play, Tidal, YouTube Music, or Deezer.
So, yeah, I hope Spotify burns down.
UPDATE: If you’re an artist with songs on Spotify, each month you get a delightful little email called Spotify for Artists. Here’s a sample.
Wait, there’s a Spotify for Artists team? What do they do for 90% of their artists? “Oh, I’m sorry you’ll see no revenue from your music, here are some ideas to sell merch on Spotify.”
John McElhenney — LinkedIn
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