Posted on 03/28/2024 5:26:27 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Count Sheryl Crow among the growing number of famous musicians dismayed by the paltry payments artists receive from Spotify.
The beloved singer, and 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, was recently a guest on Club Random with Bill Maher. The two compared recent trends in the music industry, compared to when Crow was starting out.
“[Now] you create your brand, you advertise yourself, you sell yourself,” the singer explained. “Then the music is just a byproduct of that, and you're selling yourself so that you can sell tickets and get advertisers. That was never part of the way I came up. There just was none of that. In fact, until Bob Dylan did the Victoria's Secret ad (in 2004), nobody did advertisements or took money for anything except for playing music and selling records. So, it's a different thing [now].”
When Maher pointed out that modern artists can’t make money on music alone, especially given the small royalties paid by Spotify, Crow emphatically agreed.
“You cannot make money,” the nine-time Grammy winner declared. “It makes me sad and sick.”
“I hate it because, for me, when you sold records, you knew you had your people,” Crow continued, explaining the connect artists used to make with their fans. “They're people. They were into what you're doing. How does it even work now?”
Rock Stars Slam Spotify's Practices
Crow is far from the first major artist to criticism Spotify’s business practices. David Byrne, the Black Keys and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke are just some of the other rocker’s who’ve called attention to the paltry sums the streamer pays artists. In December, Dee Snider pointed a finger directly at Spotify’s billionaire CEO, Daniel Ek.
“Spotify, the wholesale, you pay the one monthly fee [format], we’re getting so, so little. And that guy from Spotify, he should be taken out and shot," the Twisted Sister frontman declared. "When he heard that artists were complaining about how little we were paid, his response was ‘make more music.’ Like we’re producing cans of Coke.”
I think Jim Steinman should be in the HOF. He wrote all Meat Loaf’s hits as well as 14 other #1s for other artists.
So what do they make money on?
Yeah that’s about the size of it.
The music industry used to be capitalist.
Now its socialist.
Oh well.
Musical performers and composers making lots of money only happened for a short time in history. The recording industry made it possible. the broadcast industry helped a lot.
The Supreme Court ruined it in the 1980s with that stupid ruling about copying video tapes.
And clever lawyers have used that to enable YouTube to sell ads based on content that almost anyone created.
Sharyl Crow wants reparations? LOL
Well, she Didn’t Earn It!!
Yep. She’s just plain wrong about that.
Some of that older music, almost nobody would be listening to if it were not on streaming platforms. So, at least if somebody hears one of her old songs and likes it, they will be more likely to seek out some of her other songs and albums.
I always liked him. His rendition of the National Anthem at the 1994 MLB All Star Game is one of the best renderings I've ever heard at any professional sports event.
All things must pass, kiddo.
napster was organized theft. come to think of it, so are youtube and all the other platforms.
Baby...times are tough. This isn’t the 70’s. Here’s a sheet of TP for ya.
So, Spotify offers aging artist way to stay out there, make some royalties and stay in the public eye and the bitch and monan.
If you were still that great, you couldn’t need a wheel chair service.
Cheryl Crow is well known in the music world as HORRIBLE musician and singer. She has to be totally carried by her band and can hardly do studio work because she’s so technically bad. She would be working in a Waffle House in Arkansas were it not for Kevin Gilbert.
Seriously, what do they make? Per song, and in aggregate over time?
I looked it up, and found this:
https://www.33rdsquare.com/how-much-money-do-artists-really-earn-from-1-million-spotify-streams/
According to current industry estimates, 1 million Spotify streams earns artists between $3,000 and $5,000 in royalties.
However, based on industry reports and artist payout data, analysts estimate Spotify currently pays $0.003 to $0.005 per stream on average.
According to Midia Research, the global average streaming rate in 2021 was $0.004 per stream across major platforms like Spotify.
How Many Streams Does It Take to Earn Minimum Wage on Spotify?
To put Spotify‘s per-stream rates into perspective, let‘s see how many streams an artist would need to earn the U.S. federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour:
• At $0.003 per stream, it would take 2,417 streams per hour – over 57,600 streams per day.
• At $0.004 per stream, it would take 1,813 streams per hour – over 43,500 streams per day.
• At $0.005 per stream, it would take 1,450 streams per hour – over 34,800 streams per day.
For context, Spotify says their top 0.2% of artists reach over 100,000 streams per day.
So based on these rates, it‘s clear that even top artists on Spotify would likely not be able to live solely off streaming royalties – ancillary income like sales revenue, touring, merchandising and more remains crucial.
“There are layers of income needed to make a living in music in 2024,” says Mike Hartmann of the musician financial platform Sound Royalties. “Streaming should be seen as powerful exposure that boosts an artist‘s overall brand, not its sole revenue engine.”
Now let‘s look at estimated Spotify earnings for artists at different stream counts:
Earnings from 100,000 Spotify Streams
• At a $0.003 per stream rate, 100,000 streams pays $300.
• At a $0.004 per stream rate, 100,000 streams pays $400.
• At a $0.005 per stream rate, 100,000 streams pays $500.
So at 100,000 streams, Spotify royalties range from $300 to $500.
Earnings from 500,000 Spotify Streams
• 500,000 streams at $0.003 per stream pays $1,500.
• 500,000 streams at $0.004 per stream pays $2,000.
• 500,000 streams at $0.005 per stream pays $2,500.
Here the range rises from $1,500 to $2,500 for half a million streams.
Earnings from 1 Million Spotify Streams
• 1 million streams at a $0.003 rate pays $3,000.
• 1 million streams at a $0.004 rate pays $4,000.
• 1 million streams at a $0.005 rate pays $5,000.
So based on current per stream averages, 1 million Spotify streams pays between $3,000 and $5,000 in royalties to rights holders.
But does 1 million streams mean you‘ve “made it” financially as an artist? Far from it. While these royalties provide helpful income, 1 million monthly listeners on Spotify generates under $20,000 annually.
Cry me a river.
Thoughts and prayers for the Crow-Womyn!
Merch. That’s probably all they make money on.
When I think of “beloved,” it is not just selling records but warm feelings for the individual.
she doesn’t need a lot of $$ because she doesn’t buy a lot of toilet paper- so what is she griping about?
yup. and so is the CCP and most world gov’t’s.
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