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> I would be _extremely_ surprised if they would net much more than $5000 from these radio listens. Me too. Unless they've recently changed the rules, the arti

> I would be _extremely_ surprised if they would net much more than $5000 from these radio listens. Me too. Unless they've recently changed the rules, the artist gets nothing when a song is played on the radio.

nikanj 8y ago
This is..complicated. The performer doesn't get money, but the song writer does. These are often the same person, but not always. Must suck for bands whose biggest hits are cover songs.
- ENTP 8y ago
  Max Martin must love it.
TheOtherHobbes 8y ago
They haven't recently changed the rules. The average for terrestrial radio in the US is around 12c/play. In the UK it can be up to £15/minute plus £35/play on a top radio station like Radio 1. Less mainstream stations pay less. The artist may see half of that depending on their publishing deal. So... Spotify's microcents per stream are a joke. Around 80% of Spotify revenue goes to rights holders - i.e. a handful of big record companies. Around 10% of that 80% goes to artists. [1] The record labels keep the rest. [1] The exact accounting details are byzantine, especially in their creative use of expenses which diminish apparent revenue. They also vary from artist to artist. Top artists get a much bigger cut than newly signed artists. But no one gets much from Spotify plays when compared to radio payments.
- nkozyra 8y ago
  > So... Spotify's microcents per stream are a joke. If you treat it as analogous, sure, but it's not. Airplay is finite in a way that streams are not. There is also a greater cost to get in to that airspace. So it's not surprising those costs cascade down. People frame streaming like this all the time. Streams versus CD sales versus radio play. They're incomparable ecosystems, though. Costs, mechanisms, value ... none of it is 1:1 with the old world.
- ascorbic 8y ago
  You need to divide that £15/minute+£35 per play by the number of listeners for them to be comparable. Radio 1 breakfast show has about 9 million weekly listeners. I've no idea how many people are listening at any particular time, but you'd still be talking micropennies.
- pixel_fcker 8y ago
  1 play on radio 1 could easily be 1 million listeners for which they get 100 quid you say, whereas this band say they got $5000 for a million listens on Spotify.

nikanj 8y ago

This is..complicated. The performer doesn't get money, but the song writer does. These are often the same person, but not always. Must suck for bands whose biggest hits are cover songs.

ENTP 8y ago
Max Martin must love it.

TheOtherHobbes 8y ago

They haven't recently changed the rules. The average for terrestrial radio in the US is around 12c/play. In the UK it can be up to £15/minute plus £35/play on a top radio station like Radio 1. Less mainstream stations pay less. The artist may see half of that depending on their publishing deal. So... Spotify's microcents per stream are a joke. Around 80% of Spotify revenue goes to rights holders - i.e. a handful of big record companies. Around 10% of that 80% goes to artists. [1] The record labels keep the rest. [1] The exact accounting details are byzantine, especially in their creative use of expenses which diminish apparent revenue. They also vary from artist to artist. Top artists get a much bigger cut than newly signed artists. But no one gets much from Spotify plays when compared to radio payments.

nkozyra 8y ago
> So... Spotify's microcents per stream are a joke. If you treat it as analogous, sure, but it's not. Airplay is finite in a way that streams are not. There is also a greater cost to get in to that airspace. So it's not surprising those costs cascade down. People frame streaming like this all the time. Streams versus CD sales versus radio play. They're incomparable ecosystems, though. Costs, mechanisms, value ... none of it is 1:1 with the old world.
ascorbic 8y ago
You need to divide that £15/minute+£35 per play by the number of listeners for them to be comparable. Radio 1 breakfast show has about 9 million weekly listeners. I've no idea how many people are listening at any particular time, but you'd still be talking micropennies.
pixel_fcker 8y ago
1 play on radio 1 could easily be 1 million listeners for which they get 100 quid you say, whereas this band say they got $5000 for a million listens on Spotify.