I was watching John Oliver talk about ICE and I thought if everybody saw this there would be change.

But everybody didn’t.

You can watch the video for free on YouTube:

But that’s not the point. The point is we used to get our news from a limited number of sources, which had fact-checkers and authority. Now we get our news from a plethora of sources, many repeating information they’ve garnered elsewhere which is repeated to the point where people believe it, even though it is untrue.

Which brings me today’s e-mail from Mike Froedge:

——–

Of course the hate isn’t as bad for Apple Music, etc.
Apple Music (and Tidal) pay nearly TWICE the average per-stream royalty rate that Spotify does.

Spotify may be the biggest player, but their average per-stream rates are some of the worst in the game.

Basically, they’re the Walmart of streaming; They are the giant amongst the hobbits, so they pay people shit, because they can.

Mike Froedge
Step Up to the Mike Productions, LLC

——–

1. There is no per stream rate. Period. On any of these streaming services. There’s a pool of money which is divided amongst the tracks based on how many times they were played.

2. Tracks are streamed less on Apple and Amazon. And therefore each stream is worth more.

Let me dive in a bit here. There’s a pool of money. If there’s only one track and it is played one time it gets all the money. If two tracks each get the same amount of airplay they each get 50%.

But what if a track is streamed A MILLION times instead of once!

The pool of money is still the same, therefore each stream is worth less.

The subscribers to Spotify are much more active listeners, therefore each stream is worth less (and what a stream is worth constantly varies, based on overall income and the number of streams…as I stated above, there is no per stream rate).

So Spotify is the largest streamer with the most active subscribers. This is where the action is. The overall numbers of streams per track is higher (obviously not in each and every case, Apple and Amazon skew older in their listeners), and therefore what is paid per stream is less. The MORE people listen, the less each listen is worth.

It’s basic math. But I see this misconception repeated ad infinitum. Just like people believe all the fees go to Ticketmaster. Patently wrong, but it feels good.

Maybe some don’t know math, or some want to ignore it, but it doesn’t change the numbers. But someone must be screwing the artist, right? I mean you’re broke, it must be someone’s fault.

OR, you made bank in the old physical era. Well, the game changed. Just like musical tastes. Just like the horse and buggy evolved into the automobile. And these changes happen because the PUBLIC demands them. The PUBLIC wanted faster, lower maintenance transportation. AND the public thought paying for one good track on an overpriced CD was wrong. Ergo, Napster, et al. Spotify and streaming SAVED the music business because they gave the audience what it desired, the ability to stream only the music it wanted to when it wanted to for one low price.

Look at it this way… Do you want to pay a la carte for Netflix? For each and every show? You’d think that’s a raw deal.

The irony here is Spotify rebuilt recorded music remuneration. Many are making a ton of money. Why? BECAUSE LISTENERS ARE STREAMING THEIR TRACKS IN PRODIGIOUS NUMBERS! Meaning the value of your track that is streamed a thousand or even a hundred thousand times is not worth that much.

As for basing payment on what subscribers actually play… There’s a fantasy that there are all these fans of the alternative who are only listening to the non-hits, even though this is not the case in any other artistic medium. The foreign movie does not outgross the Marvel movie. As a matter of fact, grosses for almost all indie films are de minimis. Turns out MOST people don’t want to pay to see them. Maybe they USED TO, but not anymore.

Studies have shown if the money is allocated based on what people listen to the actual payment to some smaller players will be LESS!

Which brings me to e-mail number two, from Bruce Katz:

——–

Regarding Spotify…I don’t understand why you don’t realize that all that has to happen is for Spotify to pay a little more of the money to the musicians! It’s simple…then the whole system works – people get their music from streaming, the musicians are fairly paid and can continue to create music.  IT’S SIMPLE! Pay the musicians at least a subsistence wage!! Then there would be no “hatred” of Spotify that you are continually scratching your head about.

Bruce Katz

——–

There are only a hundred cents in the dollar, and if Spotify does not make a profit it goes out of business and artists get NOTHING!

Let’s just assume you’re not with a label, you’ve gone to an intermediary like DistroKid to get your tracks on streaming services… If you were on a major…you may never ever see a royalty, because of advances and low percentage royalty rates. The dirty little secret is some of the biggest acts of yesteryear, some still on the road today, NEVER got paid a royalty, NEVER EVER!

So, you’re running a business. You have income. You sell a product or service. You’ve got the cost of goods, the margin between wholesale and retail, and you’ve got overhead and if your income exceeds your costs, you’ve made a profit. Voila!

At the end of July, Apple reported its quarterly numbers. There was a gross margin of 46.5%! As for NET margin…it was 24.92%.

When it comes to Spotify… The company pays out approximately 70% of income to rights holders. In its last report, Spotify had a gross margin of 31.5%. A full FIFTEEN PERCENT LESS THAN APPLE! As for Spotify’s net margin, it’s a paltry 4.77%, nearly twenty percent less than Apple.

But it gets even worse. Spotify doesn’t scale. Its costs go up proportionately. The company continues to have to pay approximately 70% of income to rights holders AD INFINITUM!

Compare this to Apple…costs go down with volume, but not at Spotify.

Compare this to RECORD LABELS! The label amortizes costs based on consumption. Sure, it takes money to make a record, but now the distribution costs of yore are essentially history. No pressing, no shipping, no returns, just income. So each stream represents fewer costs for the label, the same way the ten millionth CD sale was more profitable than the first back in the physical era.

In other words, Spotify does not have more money to give to rights holders, as it is the company has frequently run at a loss.

BUT SPOTIFY IS THE ENEMY!

As for a living wage… Where did this come from? Talk to the acts of yore, almost none earned a living wage. But the ones struggling couldn’t go on the internet and complain.

I’ve written all the foregoing multiple times but it never sinks in, I continue to get e-mails like those above. It’s an emotional issue, not a factual one. Not everybody can get rich making music, not everybody can make a LIVING WAGE making music. Which is why traditionally parents didn’t want their kids to be artists, they were fearful they would starve, ergo the description “starving artist.”

So why can’t today’s players accept this?

Because they believe they’ve put in their 10,000 hours. Their parents like them, as do their significant others. Everybody they know says they’re great, so why aren’t they making bank?

Well, very few people are listening to their music. Never mind in most cases it’s substandard. When I can listen to the greatest music of all time or the work of a wannabe from nowhere’s poorly recorded imitation, which do you think I’m going to choose? There goes one more stream for Drake or Fleetwood Mac or Morgan Wallen…

BUT YOU HATE THESE ACTS!

When was life supposed to be fair?

It’s not like music is one big corporation, it’s not like you’re on salary. It’s entrepreneurial. If someone doesn’t buy your product you stop selling it, go on to something else…but not in music! In this case the market is wrong, or Spotify is screwing you.

And no matter what I say most won’t believe it. Because they don’t want to accept that it’s their fault, that they’re just not that good, that most people don’t want to listen to their music. Furthermore, you’d be surprised how many people on big stages are working day jobs! You saw Kenny Lee Lewis say that he worked at Guitar Center when Steve Miller was off the road. Kenny plays bass for a household name act who has sold zillions of tickets, but he has to work a straight job for a living, why don’t you?

Not that most people want to advertise these gigs… My inbox is full of them. A guy with a well-known Top Ten hit is a substitute teacher. Another from a legendary act sold jewelry. But somehow today’s wannabes are immune?

It’s not that you can’t handle the truth, YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH!

So not only is Spotify the enemy, I am too. I must be in bed with the streaming company, I must be earning bank. Otherwise why would I write this drivel? But I don’t own any Spotify stock nor have I ever taken a dollar from the company. Which I guess makes me a chump in your eyes, but keeps me honest and credible.

Are you willing to be honest and credible? Tell your friends their music isn’t good enough? That low stream numbers yield minimal payments? That Spotify is giving the lion’s share of the money to rights holders and has rarely been profitable?

I didn’t think so. Because then you’d become a pariah. It’s like complaining about Kamala to Democrats, or tax reductions on the rich to Republicans. You’d be going against your TEAM!

But music is not a team sport.

Never was.

And that’s its genius.

1

I don’t understand the hatred of Spotify. The constant denigration of its payment system and the animus directed at Daniel Ek.

Then I read this article in today’s “New York Times”: 

“How Liberalism Went to Die on the Texas-Arkansas Border”

Free link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/opinion/liberalism-texarkana-economy-democracy.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dk8.Q46T.dtVsEBHA75e2&smid=url-share

You need to read this article, but you also need to read the comments, which spew hatred at the writer and his message.

I’m sitting here wondering why we have the movies produced, the songs recorded and the TV shows displayed. For an educated person, they seem extremely lowbrow, they don’t resonate.

But this is what the public wants.

Now three-quarters of the people reading this won’t click through to the above piece because it’s in the “New York Times.” To the right it’s a bastion of liberal dishonesty. To the left left it’s too conservative.

And there you have America in a nutshell, no consensus.

How about the movies? You remember the movies, don’t you? Not unless you’re a boomer or older. Sure, some movies represented escapism, but mostly they reflected lives and values. “The Graduate”? As for “Bonnie & Clyde,” there was deep analysis of the characters and the filmmaking and…what’s there to say about a Marvel movie?

Records used to sway the culture, beamed from the heartbeat of America, the radio. Now they’re escapism. When did this start? In the last half of the eighties, certainly into the nineties.

As for TV… Have you noticed that Netflix has gone deep into reality shows?

What do all of these changes have in common? MONEY!

The blockbuster era in movies ushered in by “Jaws” and “Star Wars.”

The highly-produced videos that sold tonnage of CDs.

And what was the exponent of all of the above? MONEY!

At first it was cool. “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” 

But at some point the populace woke up and realized they’d been screwed, there was no opportunity for them to become rich and famous, other than to win the lottery, or become a pop star.

 You could play the market, follow wallstreetbets, but then be ultimately creamed by the professionals.

Go to college and they’ll teach you how to analyze and appreciate artistic works. Go to college and you’ve got a ticket for a better job. Stay home in your burg and stop at high school and what are your opportunities? All the high-paying manufacturing jobs left. Used to be you moved for better opportunities, now nobody can afford this.

2

The underclass, the lower classes, have been screwed, and they know it. Would musicians hate Spotify as much if it wasn’t started by Daniel Ek who became a billionaire as a result of its success? Note that there’s not an equal hatred of Apple or Amazon. Those are faceless corporations. But Ek? A greedy nobody from Sweden?

That’s how many musicians see him.

They bought the American dream. If you work hard you can make it and get rich. They saw everybody on MTV. They saw all those players making bank. And what did they have in common? The majority had no college degree. In other words, there were no impediments to your success. You could start at home and then become rich and world famous.

Forget that this is untrue. Back before the internet most people couldn’t afford to record their music, and distribution was an impossibility. Wannabe musicians today see a direct path from nowhere to somewhere. And when they don’t get somewhere, it has to be somebody else’s fault. Spotify and Daniel Ek’s.

Now I come from a previous era. We all wanted to be musicians, we all picked up guitars after seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, but it soon became clear who had the talent and who didn’t. And even the punters knew it was nearly impossible to get a recording contract. As for a recording studio? That was an exotic place we yearned to get into, even more than the nightclubs behind the velvet rope that didn’t let most people through.

So let’s say you never made it as a musician, you still don’t make it as a musician. You can’t become a doctor or a lawyer unless you have boatloads of education. As for tech, can you code? Maybe you’ve watched “Shark Tank” and you’re in your garage formulating a product. But one thing is for sure, you’re not going to look into the mirror and say you’re a loser, no way. But in a world that venerates billionaires, on some level you feel like one.

3

I guess I don’t understand how you want to get paid if no one listens to your music. Seems like raw economics to me. There are certain jobs that only few can do. I’d love to play in the MLB, but I don’t have the skills. I accept this. But when it comes to music…

The star musicians of the golden era, the Beatles and after, what is called classic rock, a great percentage were from the middle class, with middle class values. They were sticking it to the man. Now people want to BE the man. With brands and sponsorships. The goal is to get into bed with the Fortune 500, isn’t that the essence of being an influencer? Otherwise, how are you going to get rich?

You’re not.

Where did your opportunity go?

Oh, the wealthy wanted nothing to do with you, they rigged the system so you couldn’t even get into their schools. The elite colleges are almost all need blind. Meaning if you have the academic qualifications and no money, you’ll get a free ride. Don’t believe me?

“All 116 Need-Blind Colleges in the US: A Complete Guide”

https://blog.prepscholar.com/need-blind-colleges-list

That was an easy google, but you have to know what to look for. And it’s on a site called “PrepScholar” and if you didn’t go to prep school…

Reagan lowered taxes on the rich. Clinton signed NAFTA. And somewhere along the line many were left behind, and they’re pissed.

And the liberal left just can’t understand this. They worked hard for their position in life, they earned their riches, as for those without…they’re lazy drug addict whiners. Read the comments to the above article. DEFINITELY READ THE COMMENTS! There’s no introspection whatsoever. Those who voted for Trump are ignorant, the commenters are secure in their position. They delineate all the ways in which the Republicans and their minions are guilty. They point to people with money who are Republicans. But most interesting is the wealthy Democrats who want HIGHER taxes! That altruistic moral value, it’s absent from most of society, I mean if you’re struggling…

4

So what have we established here. I’ve linked to a “New York Times” article that points to the left and its beliefs and policies and promotion thereof that have ended up with the right in power. This pisses off everybody. The typical “Times” reader just can’t accept it, can’t even think or analyze it, and those on the right decline to partake, believing that the “Times” is one big conspiracy.

As for the “news” outlets on the right… They’re selling slanted falsehoods supported by the sale of supplements. And the church… You’ve got to believe if you’ve got nothing, something isn’t right.

But those on the left refuse to accept any responsibility for the loss of Harris, never mind the country. They can’t be guilty, it’s always someone else’s responsibility.

It’s a dark day in America today. Can you afford to be an optimist?

Well, one thing is for sure, other than the super-wealthy, no one is willing to sacrifice, they don’t want to lose a single thing they have.

So…

Get out GarageBand and make a record. Hell, you can buy beats, you can do it. Look at all the rappers who’ve made it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten into the back of a cab or an Uber and the driver has told me they’re a rapper. They don’t tell me they’re a doctor or even a coder, they’re a rapper.

As for the public…

There are the brain-dead youngsters enamored of K-pop. Which sells a fantasy culture not much different from the Marvel movies.

Then there are those who go to the show more to hang with their buddies and shoot selfies than listen to the bands. After all, the bands come and go, and they’re here forever.

But to have change we must have introspection. Which we see almost nowhere. No one can be wrong. That’s the point of reading the comments to this article. NO ONE questions themselves.

But look at internet hate… What is it about? You have something I want. And if I can’t have it I’m going to drag you down into the hole I’m in.

That’s the pervading policy in America today. I’m going to bring you down to my level. Which those at upper levels just can’t understand, they just don’t know how it got so far.

As for literature… Have you been following the brouhaha from the disgruntled novelist saying that there are no male writers? That they’re not celebrated by the media/cognoscenti? One thing is for sure… The “New York Times” Book Review is overwhelmed with the novels of women, gay people and those of color. Immigrants telling their story. It’s nearly laughable. Now some of these books are good, but where is the story men can relate to?

I don’t want to walk back feminism, nor racial advancement. But seemingly no one on the left can admit that Kamala Harris was a bad candidate. If you say this, you’re RACIST! And SEXIST TOO! But one of my favorite lefties who’d hung with her labeled her “inauthentic.” BINGO! AND I VOTED FOR HER!

5

The sixties were all about revolution. Today it’s about conformity, bitching, complaining that the system didn’t work for you.

As for major labels… They don’t want to sign anything that won’t rain down money, no matter what the artistic merit. The Mo and Joe days of Warner/Reprise way back when are completely history. Can you imagine a label today signing Beaver & Krause? Do you even know who Beaver & Krause were? Never mind Ry Cooder and so many more.

But all we can focus on is the money and how we ain’t got none. And we alternately hate and envy those who’ve got it.

But where is our opportunity?

That is the question.

@hasanminhaj

Are you the monk or the minister?

? original sound – Hasan Minhaj

This struck a chord with me. Maybe because I’m a child of the sixties. When thinking for yourself and sticking it to the man were the ethos of the day. Or maybe because I’m the child of my father… He worked as an engineer during the war and after getting fired he said he’d never work for anybody again, and he never did.

It’s a funny world we live in today, people are afraid to speak the truth. Sure, there are negative consequences, but even more are the positive benefits of kissing the ass of the man. Sure, we can go macro, think about the shenanigans in D.C., and Congress’s obeisance to Trump is a great illustration of the paradigm in this video, but this aphorism is relevant down to the most intimate levels of life.

Conventional wisdom is you get ahead via relationships, the more you make, the higher up the food chain you go.

But let me tell you, if someone does a favor for you, you must be willing to do a favor for them, with no blowback, it’s owed. They may have gotten you a job, or maybe it’s as simple as getting you an invitation to an elite party, and then you’ll get a message…could be a day later, could be ten years later, asking you to do a favor for the grantor of said favor. And in the music business, if you say no, you’re done. You’ve broken the code.

Now there’s a lot of largesse available to those who kiss the ring. Not only parties, but fine dining and flights on the private jet. Nothing is free in this world, NOTHING! And the sooner you realize this, the more successful you will be.

Now there was a change in the culture with the Millennials. Boomers, their parents, embraced individuality, letting your freak flag fly, and we saw this nowhere as much as in music… Music is a direct medium, straight from the maker into the heart of the listener…at least it was back then, that’s what blew the business up. But then the labels became part of conglomerates and CDs and MTV came along and the amount of money involved was staggering and the opportunity risk was just too high, if the label signed and released your music, they wanted it to be successful, MEGA-SUCCESSFUL!

And the aforementioned Millennials? They were perfect for this world. Because Millennials were all about being a member of the group, you wanted to be included. If you were an a*shole you were excommunicated and shunned. All the advantages came from being a member of the group…shearing off your rough edges and coloring within the lines, offending no one.

Now concomitant with this was the rise of income inequality. Millennials with a brain, especially those who went to college, didn’t want to end up on the wrong end of the income spectrum. That’s why they went to college to begin with. As for this present B.S. about everybody not needing a college education… Sure, become a plumber or an electrician, you can get rich. But you’ve got to get your hands dirty. And if you don’t have a specialized skill, you’ll end up in an underpaid service job, falling economically behind by the minute. College is a ticket. Corporations want to see that you graduated, not what you learned in the institution. Drink and drug your way through school and as long as you get your degree you’re ahead of the game. Don’t doubt me. Don’t be a pawn in the pontificators’ game. If you don’t have a college degree, you’re most likely screwed.

So being practical members of the group Millennials were beholden to the man. Forget all this about their wussy personalities. Millennials don’t want to get fired. They want the fruits of their labor/commitment. They didn’t go to college to be broke.

This is very different from the era of the Boomers. When you could live reasonably on minimum wage, at least in your twenties. Which allowed you to think for yourself and create your own path. But that was back when you could go to a state school for bupkes, not graduating owing so much bread that you immediately had to get a high-paying gig.

So these middle class boomers…

They were brought up in an era of opportunity. You didn’t teach to the book, everybody’s opinion was valid. And if you were talented and spoke your truth you could be a star.

Not that anybody liked this, other than your fans and the profit participants.

History is littered with acts who became pariahs in the eyes of many in the public. The Beatles being bigger than God, Alice Cooper…people were truly pissed. And these people were always members of organizations where they were kissing somebody’s ass, whether it be a religious institution or a governmental one or a corporation that could not be aligned with these dirty stinking scoundrels.

So…

Watch the above video. It delineates the line very clearly. Either you’re beholden to the man or you are not.

And all artists are not.

This is the problem with those in the music industry today. People without released records bitching about Spotify payments… Believe me, if you’re successful you’ll make bank, it’s just that few are successful, few were EVER successful!

And then you’re confronted with input. The label wants you to work with cowriters, wants you to do covers, they want to meddle with the music. Can you say no? Very few young artists can…because they want that money and fame, they can’t do without it, or the possibility of it.

And then there are the sponsorships, the brands… You’re inherently compromised. Deep pockets don’t get involved with you if they think you’re a risk. There’s a morals clause…one false move and you’re done. And your goal is to be rich and famous, live the superyacht lifestyle, nothing can stand in the way of this.

But an artist’s viewpoint is different, they have to be true to the art.

And please don’t conflate money with artistry. Just because you are rich that does not make you an artist. Selling multiple versions of the same album? That makes you a mercenary rip-off artist. Artists can say no, very few acts in the music business today can say no.

Which is why music does not drive the culture. Outsiders drive the culture, always. Which is why even hedge funders overpay to show up in their leather jackets to see Springsteen and so many acts from the front row. Because money can’t buy what Bruce has got, integrity.

Maybe you’re down on the Boss, doesn’t matter. How about Neil Young? These guys have had careers in excess of half a century. Why? Because they were true to themselves, beholden to no one, they refused to do what was expedient.

The problems in music today are the result of a rancid culture. EVERYBODY wants the perks. EVERYBODY wants a backstage pass. EVERYBODY wants to fly private. The goal is more important than the journey. They’ll do whatever it takes to get to that goal.

An artist will not.

Which is why when you brag about who you hung with and what you did…

You can fly on the private jet, but if you’re not paying for the flight, the seat choice is not yours. You end up compromising all your values for empty rewards, believing you’re impressing others when you ultimately look hollow. Hell, look at the performers who worked for dictators…they want that paycheck!

Will you sacrifice your soul for dirty money? Throw out everything you believe in, work for exploiters and polluters just for an exclusive hang?

Not everybody can be rich and famous. But that does not mean you have to be a quiet mouse. What do they say, all politics are local? That when a butterfly flaps its wings in Japan it affects the weather in America? Change always starts small.

Don’t underestimate credibility and integrity. All we keep hearing from the music industry is the audience doesn’t care about sponsorships and selling out. HOGWASH! Music works best when it comes straight from the heart of the artist, when it’s pure…if you’re taking tainted money, don’t think people don’t realize it.

So watch the above video, and ask who you are.

Not only do I know a lot of compromised people, I know a lot of people who are fearful of more powerful people, like the king in the above example/video. You’re as powerful as anyone, as long as you’re true to yourself. You can be a leader, and it doesn’t take money, but personality and thought. The power is within you. Don’t be a tool. Look inside and be unique. Then you and your work have a chance of truly resonating with the public. Or you can play the game and be just like the rest of the disposable minions.

It’s your choice.

This is my recommendation of the weekend.

It’s a documentary, but it’s only one ninety minute episode long, in other words it’s neither a big commitment nor a slog, you can start it on a whim and finish it shortly thereafter.

There are a few re-enactments, which usually rub me the wrong way, but what you’ve got here most is talking heads.

NO, NO, NO! Don’t let that turn you off. They don’t opine ad infinitum, they just tell the story.

So what we’ve got here is a legendary diamond heist in Antwerp back in 2003. Will you remember it from the news? Probably not, but that makes no difference.

The first focus is on how they did it. After all, it is diamonds, and Antwerp is the diamond capital of the world, and the building is dedicated to diamond dealers with a locked vault in the basement… And being diamonds, you can imagine the security!

So everybody involved is completely flummoxed. The crime appears impossible. But then there are some breaks.

So what you’ve got here is a twenty first century doc. You know, with cinematic bells and whistles, the split-screen and other effects that can be overdone but are used in just the right amount here to keep the story flowing. But as the story unfolds…you start to ask yourself, what’s so special about this?

Which is why you have to watch to the very very end.

Having said that, these are the real people involved. The cops are especially interesting. As for the criminal…

I won’t say you’ll be thinking about this documentary for days, but you won’t forget it or the questions it raises just after it ends.

Finish this and you’ll dig this.