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>People thought that about music services "No one will ever pay!" The jury is still out for businesses that depend on people paying for digital music. Both di

by jasode 9y ago

>People thought that about music services "No one will ever pay!" The jury is still out for businesses that depend on people paying for digital music. Both digital streaming services of Spotify and Pandora have been losing money since their inception. Apple's iTunes digital downloads of music declined 14% in 2015. Its peak sales was 2012. There are even some industry whispers that Apple may someday drop iTunes music sales altogether since the shrinking revenues won't be worth their attention. Nobody knows the future but the above trends may mean that digital music sales could eventually go the same way as encyclopedias: free. Not enough people are willing to pay for digital music. They still pay for live concerts though. If that's the remaining sustainable business, musicians would have to earn income from performances ... or licensing deals. >I would definitely pay for such a news service. Yes, but there may not be enough people like you. When people say, "no one" will pay, they don't literally mean "zero" payers. Instead, they mean "not enough" will pay.

WalterSear 9y ago
Moreover, none of these services would exist if it weren't for the artists and labels capitulating and licensing their products for penurious rates.
- sbarre 9y ago
  Yeaaah I think this is a weird position to take. The market for music is correcting from a time when publishers acted as artificial hit-makers and rent-seekers and imposed a monopoly on the distribution of music, and a small select group of artists got rich in the process (and we all paid many times over for the same content as formats changed). It "corrected" too far for a while with piracy, that exploded as a reaction to a bad market, but now with Apple Music, Spotify and other subscription services, we have achieved "better than free" for those of us who are willing to pay a fair price for a good service. Today's system may pay less at the top (and in the middle) but it pays out to way more people overall who can now more realistically make a living as musicians. Speaking only anecdotally, I personally know of 3 bands who now make enough money with digital royalties + occasional touring to live a "typically middle-class lifestyle". They would never have been able to do this back in the major labels + physical distribution days.. I guess to bring this back on-topic, I think there would be a market for someone to provide intuitive, personalized and multi-source access to high-quality news articles and investigative journalism..
  - WalterSear 9y ago
    "Average per-stream payout: $0.004891" https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/05/26/band-1-million-spotify-streams-royalties/ https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/05/26/band-1-million-s... "If you’re trying to live off your Spotify spins, stop it right now. Taylor Swift makes $400,000 off Spotify in a weekend. But nearly everyone else making bubkes. Which means if you’re hoping to making streaming your breadwinner, you’re probably snacking on crumbs." https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/06/21/spotify-million-royalty-indie-tunecore/ https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/06/21/spotify-million-... I would hazard that, for the corporations that manufacture Taylor Swift, $400k is bubkes too.
    - vkou 9y ago
      Prior to streaming services, thanks to piracy, and not having money, I paid $0 for music in my life. Over the past 5 years, I paid ~$500 for streaming subscriptions. It is incredibly unlikely that I would have bought $500 worth of albums in this time period. This is money that would have been left on the table. What does half a cent per stream mean in this context? Half a cent per single song play? Per album play? How many cents do you pay per play to the artist for a song that you bought, instead of streamed?
      - WalterSear 9y ago
        It's half a cent per song play. Artists on record labels will be receiving a small percentage of that, independent artist will pocket most of the half penny, and consequently will get paid ~$480 for every 100,000 plays. After $100 registration per album, on CDBaby, the artist receives 100% of the receipt. Bandcamp takes 15%. So, yes, there are ways to buy music in which an artist receives the money: we just don't choose to buy albums because streaming is cheaper and more convenient. But don't fool yourself: virtually none of the $500 you paid went to support the artists or further their work.
        deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]

by jasode 9y ago

WalterSear 9y ago

Moreover, none of these services would exist if it weren't for the artists and labels capitulating and licensing their products for penurious rates.

sbarre 9y ago
Yeaaah I think this is a weird position to take. The market for music is correcting from a time when publishers acted as artificial hit-makers and rent-seekers and imposed a monopoly on the distribution of music, and a small select group of artists got rich in the process (and we all paid many times over for the same content as formats changed). It "corrected" too far for a while with piracy, that exploded as a reaction to a bad market, but now with Apple Music, Spotify and other subscription services, we have achieved "better than free" for those of us who are willing to pay a fair price for a good service. Today's system may pay less at the top (and in the middle) but it pays out to way more people overall who can now more realistically make a living as musicians. Speaking only anecdotally, I personally know of 3 bands who now make enough money with digital royalties + occasional touring to live a "typically middle-class lifestyle". They would never have been able to do this back in the major labels + physical distribution days.. I guess to bring this back on-topic, I think there would be a market for someone to provide intuitive, personalized and multi-source access to high-quality news articles and investigative journalism..
- WalterSear 9y ago
  "Average per-stream payout: $0.004891" https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/05/26/band-1-million-spotify-streams-royalties/ https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2016/05/26/band-1-million-s... "If you’re trying to live off your Spotify spins, stop it right now. Taylor Swift makes $400,000 off Spotify in a weekend. But nearly everyone else making bubkes. Which means if you’re hoping to making streaming your breadwinner, you’re probably snacking on crumbs." https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/06/21/spotify-million-royalty-indie-tunecore/ https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2017/06/21/spotify-million-... I would hazard that, for the corporations that manufacture Taylor Swift, $400k is bubkes too.
  - vkou 9y ago
    Prior to streaming services, thanks to piracy, and not having money, I paid $0 for music in my life. Over the past 5 years, I paid ~$500 for streaming subscriptions. It is incredibly unlikely that I would have bought $500 worth of albums in this time period. This is money that would have been left on the table. What does half a cent per stream mean in this context? Half a cent per single song play? Per album play? How many cents do you pay per play to the artist for a song that you bought, instead of streamed?
    - WalterSear 9y ago
      It's half a cent per song play. Artists on record labels will be receiving a small percentage of that, independent artist will pocket most of the half penny, and consequently will get paid ~$480 for every 100,000 plays. After $100 registration per album, on CDBaby, the artist receives 100% of the receipt. Bandcamp takes 15%. So, yes, there are ways to buy music in which an artist receives the money: we just don't choose to buy albums because streaming is cheaper and more convenient. But don't fool yourself: virtually none of the $500 you paid went to support the artists or further their work.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]