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Streaming Saved Music. Artists Hate It.

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by Melody Bot, Mar 29, 2021.

  1. Melody Bot Mar 29, 2021
    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.

    Ben Sisario of the New York Times talks with Shira Ovide about the economics of streaming music:

    Haven’t many musicians always felt exploited and underpaid?

    Yes, but the streaming model has exacerbated the divide between superstars and everybody else. It’s also a fallacy to dismiss musicians’ complaints. Economic inequality has been around a long time, but it still should be addressed.

    What’s the solution? Can streaming ever work for everyone?

    There is talk of changing the payments systems to a “user-centric model” that would allocate payments based on what people listen to. If I listen only to Herbie Hancock on Spotify, my subscription fee goes only to him, after the service takes its cut. Proponents say this system would be more fair, especially to artists in niche genres. But there have been studies that say it’s not that simple. And I wonder if it’s too late to change.

    Clickbait-y title aside, that study that shows switching to a payout model based on individual listening habits sure is depressing for indie musicians.

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    stars143 likes this.
  2. ramomcferno Mar 29, 2021
    ramomcferno

    Mystery is the secret ingredient Prestigious

    Why don't they do a pilot of the user centric model? Something like increase all of the tiers of Spotify by $5 per month with the additional revenue going directly to the artists that you stream the most. This way all of the administrative fees/record label and publishing fees are already out of the way and this would go directly to the artists.

    I know I am not rich but an additional 5 dollars per month would not break the bank for me and I imagine most people. I would feel better about supporting the artists I like and still using the extremely convenient streaming method.
     
    Mr. Serotonin and fredwordsmith like this.
  3. Steve_JustAGuy Mar 29, 2021
    Steve_JustAGuy

    Trusted

    I'm honestly surprised record labels haven't siloed off their catalogues like the television/movie studios have.
     
    Raku likes this.
  4. Jason Tate Mar 29, 2021
    Jason Tate

    liner notes Staff Member

    More on the study:

    French study offers new data on impact of user-centric payouts - Music Ally
    You can find the CNM’s page about the study here, with its topline findings and links to the full (French-language) report. Among the key findings: switching to a user-centric system would reduce the royalties paid out to rightsholders of the top 10 artists by 17.2% – they’d get 7.7% of the overall payouts rather than 9.3%. The result would be small percentage gains further down the pyramid: an average 1.3% increase for artists ranked 11-100; 2.2% for those ranked 101-1,000; 0.5% for those between 1,001 and 10,000; and 5.2% for those outside the top 10,000.
     
    sawhney[rusted]2, Mr. Serotonin, ramomcferno and 1 other person like this.
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  6. say_hello_to_good_times Apr 4, 2021
    say_hello_to_good_times

    Newbie

    this is why we can't have nice things...