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Spotify CEO Talks Future of Music Releases

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Jul 31, 2020.

  1. Melody Bot Jul 31, 2020
    Melody Bot

    Your friendly little forum bot. Staff Member

    This article has been imported from chorus.fm for discussion. All of the forum rules still apply.

    Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, talked with Music Ally about how he sees the music industry going forward:

    “There is a narrative fallacy here, combined with the fact that, obviously, some artists that used to do well in the past may not do well in this future landscape, where you can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough,” said Ek

    “The artists today that are making it realise that it’s about creating a continuous engagement with their fans. It is about putting the work in, about the storytelling around the album, and about keeping a continuous dialogue with your fans.”

    Ek cited Taylor Swift’s activity around her new album ‘Folklore’ as just one recent example of an artist benefitting from that kind of effort.

    “I feel, really, that the ones that aren’t doing well in streaming are predominantly people who want to release music the way it used to be released,” he said, as the interview ended.

    Couple thoughts:

    • As someone that loves the album experience, I hate this. I barely remember to listen to singles when they’re released and then forget they ever came out. Fine, I’m getting old, but shouldn’t the next “model” for releasing music actually be one where artists can release music in various ways, that they think best suits their art, and make a living doing it?
    • Taylor Swift, and artists of her size, are usually the exception, not the rule.
    • Spotify is worth $50 billion and barely, if at all, making money. That’s not sustainable. There’s a reason they’re spending so much money on premium podcasts and other content that’s not related to music.
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  2. domotime2 Jul 31, 2020
    domotime2

    Great Googly Moogly Prestigious

    Psh fuck that. "Hey punk band that has to tour 300 days a year just to make a living, it's not our fault you make peanuts in streaming. I mean, look at how successful TAYLOR SWIFT is! "

    Also. "Make albums that tell stories and mean something..... oh and spit out an album every year too, duh"
     
    Pepetito, awakeohsleeper and BradBradley like this.
  3. somethingliketj Jul 31, 2020
    somethingliketj

    And that's why you always leave a note.

    Couple thoughts:
    My thoughts are the exact same as yours, Jason.
     
    Pepetito, awakeohsleeper, falafelmywaffle and 1 other person like this.
  4. Piercalicious Jul 31, 2020
    Piercalicious

    Regular

    The entire logic behind Spotify's business model was never going to produce a good deal for artists - it's entire existence is predicated on providing a more reasonable alternative to easy, widespread copyright theft. Your own ability to profit can only go so far when the "competition" is a free version of your exact same product.
     
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  6. noKings Jul 31, 2020
    noKings

    Regular

    is it just me but have a lot more artists have released 15-plus track albums lately? 1975/Tswift, probably more but that's from top of my head.
     
    elphshelf and falafelmywaffle like this.
  7. elphshelf Jul 31, 2020
    elphshelf

    100% made of farts Supporter

    It’s not just you. It’s done to game streaming numbers.
     
  8. pbueddi Aug 1, 2020
    pbueddi

    Trusted

    I don't ever see myself getting away from using my ipod lol.
     
    awakeohsleeper likes this.
  9. Phil507 Aug 1, 2020
    Phil507

    Resident NYC snob Supporter

    I really wish Spotify/Apple Music had a more cleaned up platform for act's discographies. I'm constantly trying to determine if of the the 8 stand-alone singles listed (as an example), 6 of them are on a proper album and what not.
     
    cosmickid likes this.
  10. Preserved Moose Aug 1, 2020
    Preserved Moose

    Amateur Hour

    They should have engaged more with the 12 people who came to see them in that basement. Get in the 21st century, losers!
     
    domotime2 likes this.
  11. hongfong00 Aug 3, 2020
    hongfong00

    The sky had blackened with carrion birds. Supporter

    Oh my gosh, me too!!!! I love my iPod.
     
    awakeohsleeper and pbueddi like this.
  12. Drew Beringer Aug 3, 2020
    Drew Beringer

    @drewberinger / we dogs Moderator

    ah fuck this dude
     
    AVanMill17 and awakeohsleeper like this.
  13. Phil507 Aug 3, 2020
    Phil507

    Resident NYC snob Supporter

    512 gig iPhone is where you need to be. I have 300 gigs of music on mine.
     
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  15. pbueddi Aug 3, 2020
    pbueddi

    Trusted

    Yeah, Id rather not spend that much money lol.
     
  16. heymattrick Aug 3, 2020
    heymattrick

    Sending my love

    This drives me nuts. Some artists are starting to make adjustments to this, but it's still a mess. My play counts are a big deal to me, and when an artist releases a single that ends up on an album 9 months later, typically there's a new version of the file on the album, so that "XXXX song - Single" file is now either a duplicate, or what I see happening sometimes is they just make that file disabled altogether. In some rare occasions, they actually update it to be a part of the album, which is preferred because I don't have to do anything on my end. It makes sense to me that artists wouldn't want multiple versions of the same song on streaming because the stream numbers are spread across multiple versions.
     
  17. manoverboard679 Aug 4, 2020
    manoverboard679

    If you have to ask, you can't afford it

    I used the 256gb classic literally up until last year. Having bluetooth and my music always on me is just way too convenient and I got a 500gb microsd card for even more space
     
    pbueddi likes this.
  18. Ferrari333SP Aug 4, 2020
    Ferrari333SP

    Prestigious Supporter

    I used to be all about having a large mp3 player, but with an unlimited Verizon data plan ($80 a month), I can stream to my heart's content
     
  19. heymattrick Aug 4, 2020
    heymattrick

    Sending my love

    I'm really surprised more big artists aren't pulling the "surprise album" move. I thought for sure after Beyonce did it in 2013, it would become pretty common, but I don't feel like that really ever happened to the extent I expected it would. I don't think you have to have the selling power of a Beyonce or a Taylor in order to do that. I seriously thought this would be a very regular occurrence after that.
     
  20. Phil507 Aug 4, 2020
    Phil507

    Resident NYC snob Supporter

    If acts would license their ENTIRE catalog (yes including all the deluxe editions and Japanese bonus tracks) I would be more of a fan. Still a large amount of stuff left off streaming services which frustrates me.
     
  21. SupMikecheck Aug 7, 2020
    SupMikecheck

    @SupMikecheck

    Im an artist that uses spotify as a listener. To support bands i like I buy their merch or concert tickets or even straight Venmo them lol. Personally As a solo artist with 100% royalties Spotify pays me out $0.003 a stream. I could only imagine what 5 member bands signed to a label with multiple cowriters makes having to split that same $0.003. Not to mention the cost for Spotify promo to get your single onto playlists. If by chance you’re not paying for promo and do it naturally like I do. I make about $1.50 at the end of the week and can buy myself a soda. & its not because my music isnt good (personal opinions) its because streaming is a ripoff unless you’re like as big as Drake or top tier.