What? How are they screwing artists? Why are you suggesting they are not legal?
Music streaming helped to almost double music industry revenue.
https://www.statista.com/chart/4713/global-recorded-music-in...
Music streaming helped to almost double music industry revenue.
https://www.statista.com/chart/4713/global-recorded-music-in...
> Moreover, notes Werde, within the pie chart detailing the total revenue that Spotify generates through music streaming, “roughly 70% of it is going to rights holders,” he says. The actual recording artists? “They’re keeping anywhere between 5% and a quarter.”
The impact on actual album sales likely hits hard, too; I recall an artist on NPR talking about how one CD sale nets them more into their actual pocket than a hundred thousand streams.
> So none of [the royalty system] makes sense... if a song is played on the radio, 100% of the royalties go to the songwriter. But if the same song is played on a streaming service, only about 20% of the royalties go to the songwriter. Where does that come from?"
The point is that "helped to almost double music industry revenue" from upthread doesn't actually help the folks I want helped; it's a misleading stat.
You may be able to do it with a smaller label that is very friendly to artists, but you most likely aren't going to be able to access the most in-demand producers, have a label pay for all of your bills/food/rent/etc while you focus on the album.
But if they want to procure the services of the publishers, then they have to agree to the terms.
It's totally possible an artist makes a break on the internet. Sarah Crean blew up from 200 monthly listeners to almost 200,000 overnight because a music TikToker posted about how great her songs are as an independent artist. (TBH it is, go check it out)
Being independent is totally a way you can go, but if you'd want to make money in the industry to really live off of you have 2 options:
- Work a job (or 2) for hours a day to keep yourself fed/housed while also doing the job of 5-10 people to try to get your music noticed enough to make money directly from fans. - Sign up with a label, immediately get your daily life taken care of and focus on your music full time.
Sadly, for a lot of artists, the promise of being able to quit your job and focus on your passion full time is an offer too lucrative to turn down. It's an exploitative industry, but when it works it works. And when it fails, it's the artist that's left on the side of the highway. Labels are like casinos, the house never loses.
70% percent of Spotify revenue goes to the right holders vs ~40% of a CD sale. That artist must have signed really bad deal, or he/she is selling CDs themself which makes comparison really misleading.