“The Truth About Streaming Payout – Take a closer look at the actual math behind real music royalties.”

https://spotifynews.substack.com/p/the-truth-about-streaming-payout

Even I missed this story, which was published a week ago. I caught it in today’s Record of the Day e-mail.

I constantly get e-mail from people claiming that Apple pays more per stream than Spotify… But the devil is in the details. THERE IS NO PER STREAM RATE! Furthermore, the more people stream on a service, the less a stream ultimately pays out…

But I don’t expect this story to EVER be accepted by the general public which is somehow convinced that Spotify is the devil…

But that’s the world we now live in. One in which you can’t get a message to everybody and people run on emotion rather than fact. Don’t even get me started on the endless stories about measly payouts on Pandora… When it comes to publishing… How much of the song did the writer contribute? Who owns the publishing? There’s a hundred cents in a dollar. Maybe half is taken by the publishing company and of the fifty cents left… If there are ten writers, each gets a nickel.

Never mind that on demand streaming pays more than radio streaming. I.e. if you pick and choose the tracks, it’s a higher rate than if they are served up to you radio style.

It’s really not that complicated, it’s just that the internet and the advancement in tools has eliminated the barrier to entry…everybody can play/put up their songs on streaming services…and then they complain they are not getting paid enough!

And then there are the artists who were supported by the major labels in the pre-internet era. Well, not only do they no longer have major label deals, not many people are streaming their music. If people are not listening, should you get paid?

What is the number of people who should be able to support themselves as full time musicians? Think about the number of people who can play in the NBA…or in Major League Baseball. It’s a thin elite of highly-compensated players. Most people can’t get paid at all, and those in the minor leagues that exist get paid a pittance. But everybody in music should be able to earn a living wage?

Everybody keeps telling me I’m on the wrong side of this. That Spotify and streaming are truly the devil.

And this is why we can’t have a discussion. Because we can’t start with the facts. Read the above article, it’s simple and clear.

But it doesn’t square with your emotions…

So we live in a world where few know the facts and when confronted with them they deny them.

So most in the music business don’t even bother to explain themselves, it doesn’t make any difference. It reminds me of the sixties, when people believed music should be free… Funny how now everybody is complaining they can’t get paid…