FEATURE:
The Ongoing Issues with Spotify
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Can the Streaming Site Ever Compensate Artists Fairly?
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EARLIER this week….
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some news came through that cast into doubt the stability and long-term future of Spotify. I think it remains an invaluable streaming service that is important to so many people. I use it all the time to make playlists, discover new artists, and have that ready and instant access to so many great songs and albums from the past. I have always felt guilty that the most one can pay to be a member is £9.99. It seems a very low monthly rate if you use the site a lot. It made me wonder why, when so many people have subscribed, artists are still paid so little. It gets me thinking about an idea that might need to be utilised by another platform. I say that because, as The Guardian report, there is a bit of uncertainty regarding Spotify’s financial health and longevity:
“Spotify has raised prices for its premium plans across several countries including the US, UK and Australia, as the music-streaming company looks to boost profitability in an uncertain economy.
Monday’s move will result in a $1-a-month price increase for Spotify’s US plans, with the premium single now starting at $10.99, duo at $14.99, family at $16.99 and the student plan at $5.99.
Spotify has moved in recent months to boost margins with hundreds of layoffs and a restructuring of the podcast unit, which it had built up with billions of dollars in investment.
The price increases come at a time when streaming services, both audio and video, are under rising investor pressure to boost profitability after years of prioritising user growth.
Rivals services from Apple and Amazon.com and Tidal have all increased prices this year, while YouTube also raised prices last week on its monthly and annual premium plans in the US for the first time since the subscription service was launched in 2018.
Spotify, which had indicated in April that it would raise prices in 2023, had also raised prices in 46 countries last year.
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In the UK prices have increased by £1 a month, to £10.99 for an individual plan, £14.99 for a duo and £17.99 for a family. In Australia, prices are increasing by $1 a month for an individual, to $12.99, and by two dollars a month for duo and family plans, to $17.99 and $20.99 respectively.
The Sweden-based company is due to report its results for the second quarter on Tuesday.
In January the streaming giant said it was cutting about 600 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, admitting it had expanded too quickly during the coronavirus pandemic. Co-founder and chief executive Daniel Ek said he had been “too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth”.
The streaming giant paid a reported $100m (£73m) in 2020 for an exclusive licensing deal with Joe Rogan, whose podcast has millions of listeners. It also paid a rumoured $25m for an exclusive podcasting deal with Michelle and Barack Obama in 2019, an agreement which ended last year.
And it paid a reported $20m for its deal with a media group run by Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, in 2020. That contract ended by mutual agreement in June after the couple produced just one series for Spotify under their Archewell Audio production company”.
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I can appreciate things are quite bad for most businesses, and £9.99 is a low amount to pay for unlimited access to music. One of the biggest problems is asking where all that profit goes. If Spotify is struggling a little at the moment, you feel they will stabilise, as they have always been able to get people to become members and pay to stream. I do think that anyone who uses the site should pay. A glaring gulf that you see on Spotify is the streaming numbers of major artists and those who are less established. The amount artists are paid per stream is shockingly low, but I guess that if it were a lot higher, then that would risk Spotify losing out or having to raise their prices even further. I think there should be a way where the top artists who earn millions a year through streaming should have a redistribution pot. They can live comfortably on what they get through album sales and touring. Getting that big chunk from streaming, whilst earned, does like a lot compared to what other artists get. When there is this massive divide, why can’t there be a reserve where they can put a cut of their earnings in, and then that can be fairly shared with other artists?! It might be a minefield considering how many artists upload to Spotify - but I do think that there could be something in place like that.
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Some people may say that those huge artists have earned that money, and it is also going to mean mere pennies when you share that money among all artists. If you consider the fact an artist like Taylor Swift might earn millions a year through streaming alone, there will be many million available to put aside. I think it would be a boost for smaller artists receiving that extra income. If not that, then there should be a way of adjusting the earnings-per-stream so that the bigger artists who will earn a tonne will earn less so that other artists can benefit. I feel that something could be implemented similar to this. At a time when so many artists rely on streaming sites to get their music heard and shared, they are not being properly compensated. Also, with Twitter now rebranded as X, can this new site offer a Spotify-like streaming option or addition that pays artists more? Perhaps that option is a long way off. Spotify is one of the most recognised and popular streaming sites. It is a go-to for so many. I guess, with other music streaming sites available, it is not on Spotify’s shoulders alone to do better. I feel that so many music fans would pay more for a monthly subscription in order to ensure artists are paid fairly. As I keep saying, with their being a bit divides in earnings between a sea of rising artists and those who are established and get millions of streams per month, there does need to be a rejig and new model. Having that access to music of smaller artists that might not get radio play or would otherwise pass you by is crucial. Sharing that money with others too. If they are not paid enough or feel that putting their music on streaming sites is not yielding benefits, then so many people will not get to hear their music. And that would be…
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A massive loss.