5 ms·
A fair model would be to charge users a pay-as-you-go rate for every minute listened. Someone who listens 20 hours a week should pay more than someone who list
by dustinmoris 6y ago
A fair model would be to charge users a pay-as-you-go rate for every minute listened.
Someone who listens 20 hours a week should pay more than someone who listens 5 hours a month on Spotify. Just set a rate/minute and track each user's usage and bill them monthly.
Then pay the same rate/minute (minus a super small commission %) to the artists of whom the music was streamed.
This would mean that artists get a fair share for what they contribute. If Madonna releases a new album which is a flop then why should she still get the same payout as her last album which was a hit? Equally, if a new artist releases a real banger why should they get less for their talent only because their name is less established as someone else?
This model would also allow a platform like Spotify to push the rate/minute slowly up until they reach a point where demand and supply meet happily. We would be able to find the real value of good music which consumers are willing to pay.
- rullelito 6y agoThis sounds stressful and complex to track and charge for.. Also, I usually listens to books/podcasts while I sleep, and when not sleeping I usually relisten large parts of them since I often wander away with my thoughts. This sounds horrible from my perspective.
- pbhjpbhj 6y agoWhy do you "listen" to books whilst you sleep, do you think it does something?
- simongr3dal 6y agoThen people would get self-conscious about their usage and won't use it as much. Artists might get a better rate but the paycheck would end up smaller. Also something something credit card processing fees.
- CyberRabbi 6y agoA “fairer” model but not necessarily a more successful model for Spotify is it?
- nkrisc 6y agoFairer, maybe, but then I'd just close my account because that's not what I, the consumer, want.
- danmaz74 6y agoWhat Madonna makes is proportional to the number of streams of her songs, so a more successful album will bring her more money.
- imtringued 6y agoI don't know why but self defeating arguments like this are very popular nowadays on HN. "If Madonna has a more successful album, then she will get more money." Now imagine situations in which this statement is true but Madonna does not have a more successful album. There are plenty of situations in which she can earn more money without better albums which is exactly what the entire submission is about. Madonna's revenue increases when more people get a Spotify premium account even when those new users don't listen to Madonna. There are large differences between users. Some users listen to 2000 streams per month, others listen to 200 streams per month. There might be "crazy" people who listen to Madonna songs on loop 24/7.