These days, most music consumption is done through digital streaming platforms (DSPs), like Spotify, Apple Music, etc. I mean… why the hell not?! It costs around a tenner a month to get access to just about any song recorded, and you can eat as much as you want until you’re sick. What’s not to like about that?
I’m not most people, to be fair. I’m one of those sad music nerds who’s built up a sizeable collection of vinyl, tapes, CDs and MP3s over the last [cough] 40-odd years. The hard copies get played at home, and I have all my favourite albums stored on my phone for my walking and driving audio pleasure. But, as I still take an active interest in music discovery, it’s useful to have a DSP subscription for trying out new stuff and for sharing tips and playlists with friends and family.
So, I’ve subscribed to Spotify on and off over the last few years too. I chose Spotify purely on the basis of choice and ubiquity — everyone seems to use it. I didn’t really look at the competition, as they were all about the same price, and Spotify seemed to have the edge with the biggest catalogue. This is where most people’s research ends. Job done. Get rid of the bulky LPs, tapes and CDs, and play anything you like through your Sonos, Alexa, Bluetooth speaker, or whatever.
As someone who has produced music myself (on CD, for download and through DSPs), I soon realised what it was like to be on the production end of the music supply chain. A small-time artist may make around £5 from a CD or a download. For that artist to make the same money from Spotify, you would have to play their album about 180 times, from start to finish. Ask yourself how many times you’ve played the last few albums you bought.
Even the artists your parents might have heard of struggle to make much money from DSPs. They’ve had to rely on touring for most of their income for years. But, with costs going through the roof, even touring doesn’t make as much money for the artist as it used to. It’s not easy to make a living being a musician. Musicians who aren’t huge will usually have an alternative income.
None of this is a secret. We’re all vaguely aware of the injustice, but we turn a blind eye because… well… 10 quid a month, innit.
Recently, I was made aware of a few lesser-known Spotify facts. Spotify pays music production companies to make mood music to add to playlists so they can pay less to artists. They also find “micro payments” tiresome (oh, the irony) and have decided not to pay new artists who aren’t big enough to muster 1000 plays yet. In fact, Spotify generally pays out less to artists than all the other household name DSPs, with Apple Music and YouTube Music paying out 2–3 times as much and Tidal paying out nearly 4 times as much.
Still, it’s comforting to know that Spotify’s CEO (now worth an estimated $10bn) has been able to use his hard-earned cash to set up a venture capital business, investing in things like weapons systems. I mean… why pay musicians?! A growing number of artists have now decided that enough is enough, and they’ve withdrawn their music from Spotify. Spotify is no longer guaranteed to provide a bigger catalogue than its competitors.
I decided that I was not going to support this company any longer too. I’m currently on a 3-month trial with a competitor, and I’m still looking. Meanwhile, I buy albums, I download from Bandcamp.com and I go to gigs when I can.
If you want amazing small and independent artists to flourish, and you want your favourite band to keep on making new music, you need to make it worth their while. Don’t settle for rip-off streaming and then complain that music all sounds the same these days.
Keith, Swanage Record Club
swanagerecordclub.uk, @swanagerecordclub
