How Spotify Saved the Music Industry (But Not Necessarily Musicians)

[Rarebird]

Well, that's as it is today. There was a time when being a member of a military band (in my case I'm referring to the Canadian forces bands that no longer exist as full-time entities) or a symphony orchestra could actually be those musicians' full-time jobs...and a pretty darn decent income it was, too.

Speaking from my own experience working with a number of musicians who were members of symphony orchestras or military bands, from the late '70s to late '80s I did a fair bit of gigging in weekend wedding bands for supplemental income (which also paid pretty darn well, back when musicians unions had the clout to ensure there were proper contracts and that they were enforced, rather than ultimately being worth less than the paper on which they were printed), and most folks in those part-time bands were members of the local Canadian Forces band, which was their full-time job until it was dismantled as a full-time entity around the early '90s, as I recall. At that point, most of them were forced to expand their hours/week teaching - until then acting, as was the case with those wedding bands, as part-time supplements rather than full-time gigs/primary sources of income.

The bottom line is that there was a time when musicians had many options when it came to generating enough revenue to make music their full-time career (and the most successful were those who were diversified). Over the past quarter century we've seen an erosion of pretty much all of those options, leaving teaching as the one remaining, reliable source...and "reliable" being relative, since with everything else being eroded, competition for teaching jobs increased as income from teaching decreased (unless you were fortunate enough to land a university/college gig, and even so, unless you were either a professor or were a musician with enough "name" clout to be able to demand a higher rate).

So, it's not just streaming, it's not just gigging, it's that, over time, virtually every potential source of income has been eroded for musicians trying to make a living. In fact, every time one avenue declined and musicians were forced to adapt by moving into another you could almost be guaranteed that those alternatives would ultimately declined as well.

The classical musicians I know don't play in orchestras. They are mostly specialised in baroque, one playing harpsichord and forte-piano and the other playing bassoon and dulcian.

[Besalynus]

Thanks for the information.

[JemmyBrihm]

Fairness and equality are well said. In the past, if you didn't have money and connections, it was unrealistic to get ahead. Now there are plenty of opportunities for that. Very often you can hear the expression that modern music is not what it used to be and sometimes it doesn`t withstand any criticism. There is also the opinion that with all the opportunities that exist now, anyone can sing, not necessarily have good vocal skills. But that's not entirely true, because now there are opportunities to discover your talent. In the past, everything was done thanks money. For instance, services such as https://songlifty.com/ are available only now, 30 years ago it was beyond imagination.

[Munster]

The Financial Times (hidden behind a pay wall) had an interesting article today on how bots are gaming streaming services. Change may also be afoot in the way musicians are paid. This is the article:

Universal Music Group is in talks with big streaming platforms to overhaul the industry’s economics and direct more money towards artists, according to people familiar with the matter. The shake-up, which stands to revolutionise the way musicians make money, comes as the world’s largest music company is increasingly concerned about the proliferation of songs on platforms such as Spotify, where 100,000 new tracks are being added each day.

The industry is also contending with growing manipulation of the system, including using bots to inflate listening figures and the uploading of 31-second clips that are just long enough to qualify as a “play”. Michael Nash, Universal Music’s chief digital officer, told the Financial Times: “You have a quantity over quality challenge right now. That’s making it harder for new artists to establish themselves, for new releases to come through.”

Many musicians say the current system deprives them of the ability to make a living, while the main labels have complained about the growth of “lower-quality” songs — such as ambient sleep tracks — arguing they undermine the experience for listeners and pull money away from legitimate artists. Universal controls more than 30 per cent of the world’s music and has a stable of artists including Drake and Taylor Swift. It is already in talks with Tidal, the streaming service founded by rapper Jay-Z, about how to change the streaming model, and is in discussions with other big streaming services, according to people familiar with the matter.

Universal chief Lucian Grainge told staff earlier this month that the industry needs “a model that supports all artists — DIY, indie and major”. Spotify is “open to anything that works for the entire industry”, chief financial officer Paul Vogel told the FT. “We’re willing to make changes if that’s what all artists, songwriters and rightsholders want to do . . . We’re open to having the discussions and it’s an industry decision, not just a Spotify decision”.

Tidal’s chief executive Jesse Dorogusker said: “This partnership will enable us to rethink how we can sustainably improve royalties’ distribution for the breadth of artists on our platform.” In the first phase of the overhaul, Universal wants to stamp out online bots.

Beatdapp, a start-up focused on identifying streaming fraud, estimates that about 10 per cent of all streams on US platforms are fraudulent. The streaming boom has given rise to a bevy of services offering artists the chance to buy their way to success. A Google search for “buy Spotify streams” yielded 44mn results, with sites such as “spotistar.com” offering 1,000 Spotify plays for $6.

Record executives have also grown frustrated with attempts to game the system via short, repetitive clips of music that make their way on to streaming playlists and generate royalties. In 2021 a Spotify artist named “Sleep Fruits Music” was reported to be generating 10mn streams a day from short recordings of electronic rainfall, outperforming stars such as Lady Gaga.

One possibility being discussed is banning 31-second clips, which have become widespread because a song must be listened to for more than 30 seconds in order to generate revenue. Universal is also looking to reward musicians who are luring new users and supporting retention.

Conversations are in the early stages, but one strategy being examined is creating a “bonus pool” of money for artists who are driving more value to platforms by generating many streams from new users. Universal and Tidal are exploring ways to measure fan engagement, such as tracking the sharing of songs on social media. Another option is to introduce a superfan tier of streaming subscriptions that would charge fans for extra perks or access to their favourite artists.
Under the current system, the total royalty income generated on a streaming platform is pooled together and then divided up among the owners of the music based on their share of total streams. Critics argue that this structure gives an incentive to artists to create shorter songs in order to maximise repeated “plays” and increase their share of the money.

“Everyone seems to agree that the current streaming model is not working”, said Tatiana Cirisano, analyst at Midia Research, pointing to years of complaints from the independent music community. The call for change comes as industry executives say streaming has flattened the way revenue is distributed. Since users consume music more passively, musicians are not fairly rewarded for being actively sought out. Ultimately, the new model will be different across the various streaming services, Universal executives expect, which would be a change from the $10-a-month pricing model that has prevailed.

[Steve F.]

^^^^^^^^^

I’m glad to hear that the major labels are very concerned about who is a ‘legitimate artist’…

[Steve F.]

There is so much horseshit contained in that article, but my favorite is this

“Everyone seems to agree that the current streaming model is not working”, said Tatiana Cirisano, analyst at Midia Research, pointing to years of complaints from the independent music community.

It is perhaps worth noting that everything being proposed by the labels and the streaming services in the article will only make things even worse for ‘the independent music community’. So, why does this article quote this person like they are concerned about this?

[JKL2000]

Somebody could probably do a good political cartoon to go along with the article. I love how UMG only became concerned when something started to cut into their profits. It's pretty unbelievable that they're really willing to pay artists what would amount to more than what bots are stealing. Once their bottom-line is shored up I'm sure they'll lose all interest.

[battema]

While I naturally extend my thoughts & prayers to the struggling executives at UMG and Spotify, I can't help but also smile a little bit that it was an army of nano-new age robots who shoved this particular corncob up their collective asses.

[battema]

Also, if it helps...if Daniel Ek and his pals find themselves struggling to put food on the table I can offer up a generous bag of dicks that would help sustain them through these difficult times

[Rick L.]

Also, if it helps...if Daniel Ek and his pals find themselves struggling to put food on the table I can offer up a generous bag of dicks that would help sustain them through these difficult times

I'd that different than a bag of generous dicks?

[battema]

I'd that different than a bag of generous dicks?

Given that Spotify favors quantity over quality, I'll stick with my proposal

[jkelman]

EK keeps speaking about greater money for artists and equitable distribution for years now,and it keeps not arriving and it never, ever will, based on their model, which they won’t do anything about since it makes THEM a fortune.

IMO.

Exactly!