Spotify, gaming the system, paying artists etc

[Count Machuki]

I thought this was a pretty good catch-all article...

The Streaming Problem: How Spammers, Superstars, and Tech Giants Gamed the Music Industry

What do you make of all this? I sometimes feel guilty that living artists I listen to are hardly getting paid from my enjoyment. But then, why should I beat myself up as a music lover?

I have a playlist made up of folks I know and who I want to get paid - sometimes I'll leave it on overnight or in the office if I leave for the weekend.
So, enjoy your fractions of cents, assholes!


Anyway, the article is a good read. Fake bands, albums with fifty tracks, 30 second songs, the whole gamut of tricks to make streaming pay...

...and NOT pay

damn, Spotify, you're my dream come true, why you gotta be an asshole?

[Darkness_Fish]

The strange thing is, I have a pre-spotify album where all the tracks are 30 seconds long. It's rubbish.

http://wheremuz.ru/album_all/four-years ... ld-8034726

[Quaco]

Read the article and can't think of anything to say! Call that defeatist, but it seems kind of like politics in that it's mostly something that the big boys will have to fight out. Most of us should concentrate on writing a good song.

[Sneelock]

part of me admires people singing about poop & personalized happy birthdays to people.
I mean, it makes sense that somebody would figure out how to game the system and it IS a concern when "the house" is getting a cut.

I love streaming music and find it hard to remember a time when I didn't. I don't like the idea of screwing anybody over so maybe I need to think about that more than I do. I've been using "Google Play" and hell, that's even worse than Spotify. you can download YouTubes! I'll bet Google Play causes Robert Fripp & David Thomas bang their heads on their medicine cabinets at least once a week.

[jimboo]

How much should artists get for their work , is there a formula ?

[toomanyhatz]

Generally the formula seems to be make sure the folks at the top of the food chain get paid, since they're the ones that can afford to audit and/or sue you.

Thing is, they could EASILY track plays and pay a predetermined rate per play. They just don't want to set up the systems to do so, which will cost money, and the legality of it is too new and will be debated in courts for many years to come. But, you know, Kanye's getting paid, and they can prove it.

[sloopjohnc]

I thought this was a pretty good catch-all article...

The Streaming Problem: How Spammers, Superstars, and Tech Giants Gamed the Music Industry

What do you make of all this? I sometimes feel guilty that living artists I listen to are hardly getting paid from my enjoyment. But then, why should I beat myself up as a music lover?

I have a playlist made up of folks I know and who I want to get paid - sometimes I'll leave it on overnight or in the office if I leave for the weekend.
So, enjoy your fractions of cents, assholes!


Anyway, the article is a good read. Fake bands, albums with fifty tracks, 30 second songs, the whole gamut of tricks to make streaming pay...

...and NOT pay

damn, Spotify, you're my dream come true, why you gotta be an asshole?

Ice Cube was asked about this on Bill Maher about a month ago. His response is that he gets paid, but when weren't labels or managers ripping off artists? To him, Spotify was just the next evolution of artist not getting paid what they deserve.

[Milarepa]

What truly sucks to me is how little people are willing to pay for music streaming services. If I'd been offered instant access to millions of songs back in the late 70s, I'd have paid much more than ten dollars a month. Plus, I'm saving huge money being able to sample albums before I buy them. Nothing much can be done, except to negotiate better deals, but we're living in a music paradise and people don't want to pay.

[Six String]

It's like we've come full circle. Musicians singing for their supper. They have to perform n order to get paid. The gravy days of the 1970s and 1980s are gone. Recorded music isn't worth much to people these days so unless you can draw them into your concert, you won't see much in the way of financial support.

[Bent Fabric]

I have nothing insightful to add, but...yeah, I absolutely devoured that article. DEEPLY fascinating and beautifully researched/presented,

[Diamond Dog]

It's like we've come full circle. Musicians singing for their supper. They have to perform n order to get paid.

It is fascinating how tours were made to promote album sales throughout much of my formative years but, around the mid 90s, that changed and now your albums are released to promote tours because that's where the money is. It must be why the artists in their late 60s/70s are still touring (having spent large parts of the late 70s and 80s doing their best not to).

[Your Friendly Neighbourhood Postman]

It's like we've come full circle. Musicians singing for their supper. They have to perform n order to get paid.

It is fascinating how tours were made to promote album sales throughout much of my formative years but, around the mid 90s, that changed and now your albums are released to promote tours because that's where the money is. It must be why the artists in their late 60s/70s are still touring (having spent large parts of the late 70s and 80s doing their best not to).

Brilliant observation. I never thought of it this way.