cp3iverson said:

Im an Apple Music guy.  I dont think i can pull these stats

https://music.apple.com/replay

Brian Fallon was my number 2 streamed artist. I actually listen to pj every day I think.. 

Spotify’s Streaming Model Is Based on Exploitation

jstu39 said:

lexicondevil said:

MayDay10 said:

As far as I know, spotify is a straight company who pays royalty.  It has hugely diminished burning/ripping/sharing music which was the largest leak in the industry ship.

It has also been an absolute treasure trove for me, expanding my musical horizons so much.  I let the thing play and it goes on a journey of music and artists I would have found otherwise.  This in turn inspires me to visit their website, social media, see them live.

They straight up pay the artists shit. The larger bands, like PJ, do well, but smaller to medium bands get paid barely anything for millions of listens. Just because you think it's diminished pirating doesn't make it a stand up company. I like the idea, I just wish they would treat artists better. Just another case of those with money ripping off artists. Nothing new.

But what is the alternative? Honest question, not trying to argue. Radio stations have provided free listens for decades. And promoters would try to get their artists played. Spotify also provides a place for exposure. Can this lead to fans finding smaller bands and growing their paying base? I realize this is an oversimplification and in a perfect world they would pay artists more, as long as it doesn’t raise my rates! Lol. 

(Terrestrial) radio is free to listeners, but terrestrial radio stations pay licensing fees to music publishers in exchange for the right to play copyrighted works in a commercial context.

I thought this thread was near its end, but it picked up again yesterday, so I will add my 2 cents.  First, I highly recommend the book ROCKONOMICS by Alan B. Krueger.  Hands down the best music book I read this year and I read a lot of music books every year.  It was published in 2019 and was well-researched.  Among other things, I learned a ton about streaming services and how they work.  I have felt this way for awhile, but the book confirmed: the better streaming platforms become at delivering personalized services, the more likely subscribers will stay.  This is exactly why I have a paid subscription and stick with Spotify.  My first playlists date back to August 2011.  According to my 2020 Wrapped, I listened for 119,806 minutes this year.  That's approximately 3 months of nothing but listening to music.  Now, I know that is a little skewed, but not by much.  Spotify allows me to listen to my favorite music ALL THE TIME.  One of the best features is the ability to download my playlists and listen offline.  This has been especially enjoyable during the pandemic.  Like most of you, Pearl Jam was my #1 artist - no surprise.  But, I was also proud to learn I listened to 2,107 artists and discovered 600 new artists in 2020.  Rock was my #1 genre, but I listened to 408 genres (didn't know there were that many) this year, including 154 new ones.  I attribute this to the ease of listening to music through Spotify at home and on the job.  I am a university professor and using Spotify I play music in my class (and now on Zoom) every day.  I actually teach two courses that require students to listen to music as part of their coursework, and believe it or not, students show up to class (and Zoom) early to listen to my "load in" songs every day - yes, I pinch myself constantly.  From a personal economic stance, paying $9.99 per month for ease of access and convenience is a no-brainer.  I paid approximately $0.001 per minute of listening this year.  Does this mean I ripped the artists off?  I do not think so.  I still have a vast collection of music by my favorite artists, but I cannot take that with me everywhere I go. Unfortunately, I have not figured out how to play my vinyl collection through Zoom - but, I have showed my students how a record player works!  One last bit of information from the ROCKONOMICS book: Streaming services that rely heavily on ad-supported customers (non-subscribers) have fewer dollars to pay out to artists because ads generate less revenue than subscribers do.  Something to think about if you or people you know are enjoying the "free" music, but want to support artists.  No matter what you think about streaming services, they are the present and the future of music listening.  I Am Analog - so, I do not like this anymore than anyone else of my generation, but I do accept it.  Be safe and happy listening in 2021!

Pap said:

SoundCloud pays artists fairly

That's great! 

https://help.soundcloud.com/hc/en-us/articles/1260801306810