I know that nobody gets $250k upfront for 3 seconds of music on TikTok on the off chance that it could lead to millions more in streaming royalties later. I note the writer didn't bother to quiz the A&R guy on the structure of said quarter-mill offer.
The top record labels haven't changed places since the bad old days. You know why Spotify's never made a profit in 15 years? It's because all their revenue goes to pay licensing fees to the big 5. Spotify can't make its own music a la Netflix, which is why they're desperate to build podcast revenue.