9 ms·

How do musicians get paid on this platform?

BRedSox 6y ago
I’m guessing when people purchase the music as it’s not a streaming service. With that said, it appears there is the ability to share music socially - which seems like p2p sharing.
- lkxijlewlf 6y ago
  > With that said, it appears there is the ability to share music socially - which seems like p2p sharing. Which is fine as there is plenty of music that is allowed to be shared free.
  - BRedSox 6y ago
    That wasn’t their question. We all get that there is music available to be freely distributed.
sneak 6y ago
This isn’t a platform, it is software you install and run on your own client and server.
- tchaffee 6y ago
  "Funkwhale is a community-driven project that lets you listen and share music and audio within a decentralized, open network." From the top of their landing page.
awalton 6y ago
They get paid from whatever service you bought your music from - be it from CDs, MP3 sites like Amazon or Google Play (RIP), etc. Scary thought, being able to purchase music these days rather than a streaming service lease, I know...
- tchaffee 6y ago
  If I am only sharing with my family, then fine. But it looks like this software allows you to create a pod and share with whoever you invite. Which my purchase doesn't cover, right?
  - pessimizer 6y ago
    Did your purchase cover your family? Why should your spouse and children be allowed to listen to music licensed to you?
    - tchaffee 6y ago
      My goal is that musicians get fairly paid for their work as opposed to making sure I am following every subtle licensing technicality in my own home, which is only an exercise in pedantry and accomplishes nothing practical for musicians. I don't talk with the attorneys who create these complex licensing rules at Amazon, iTunes, etc. I talk to musicians. None of whom have ever had a problem with listening to their music with a small group of friends or family. The problem is with a platform that allows me to fire up a server and then invite thousands or millions of people to listen to someone's music for free.
    - choward 6y ago
      Do you remember CDs, cassettes, records, etc.? Is it illegal to let family listen to those?
  - _jal 6y ago
    Be sure you soundproof your home/apartment, and don't turn it up too much in the car. Don't want to accidentally leak any copyrighted joy to your neighbors without payment!
    - tchaffee 6y ago
      Seems like you are being sarcastic, but yes, if you play loud enough and to a big enough audience you do indeed owe royalties. In fact bars and restaurants are required to pay for this exact reason.
LockAndLol 6y ago
Donations I think. They should be able to add links to their homepage, PayPal, patreon, etc. Or maybe that's an upcoming future, I can't remember exactly.
- tchaffee 6y ago
  If this is an existing feature, or when they add it, the platform becomes way more interesting to me. I'd love to pay musicians directly instead of the embarrassingly low payouts from services like Spotify.
  - lomereiter 6y ago
    A feature would be nice to have, but right now you can just go to an artist-friendly shop (such as Bandcamp or Qobuz) and buy an album of the artist you'd like to support.
Zigurd 6y ago
Agate Berriot, the lead developer of Funkwhale, is creating a donation mechanism https://agate.blue/2019/06/09/introducing-retribute-a-decentralized-open-effort-to-support-creators.html https://agate.blue/2019/06/09/introducing-retribute-a-decent...
52-6F-62 6y ago
I want to be surprised by how controversial this simple question seemed to be, and yet I'm not. I'm disappointed, though.
reimbar 6y ago
Donations, according to the creators of Funkwhale. Some comments here are making assumptions about the motivations/ethical principles of the developers, but how about reading directly what they say? It turns out that they've been thinking quite a lot about this problem: https://agate.blue/blog/2018/05/11/funkwhale-content-monetization-trust/ https://agate.blue/blog/2018/05/11/funkwhale-content-monetiz...
pontifier 6y ago
People who run servers will probably fall under the Music Modernization Act. Every DSP (Digital Service Provider) is required to register with the Mechanical Licensing collective, and the administrative fee is $5,000 per year if you fall under the threshold number of streams. If you pass that, then it's $60,000 to unlimited... Of course you'll have to file monthly reports and pay the royalties due under the blanket license as well.

I’m guessing when people purchase the music as it’s not a streaming service. With that said, it appears there is the ability to share music socially - which seems like p2p sharing.

lkxijlewlf 6y ago
> With that said, it appears there is the ability to share music socially - which seems like p2p sharing. Which is fine as there is plenty of music that is allowed to be shared free.
- BRedSox 6y ago
  That wasn’t their question. We all get that there is music available to be freely distributed.

sneak 6y ago

This isn’t a platform, it is software you install and run on your own client and server.

tchaffee 6y ago
"Funkwhale is a community-driven project that lets you listen and share music and audio within a decentralized, open network." From the top of their landing page.

awalton 6y ago

They get paid from whatever service you bought your music from - be it from CDs, MP3 sites like Amazon or Google Play (RIP), etc. Scary thought, being able to purchase music these days rather than a streaming service lease, I know...

tchaffee 6y ago
If I am only sharing with my family, then fine. But it looks like this software allows you to create a pod and share with whoever you invite. Which my purchase doesn't cover, right?
- pessimizer 6y ago
  Did your purchase cover your family? Why should your spouse and children be allowed to listen to music licensed to you?
  - tchaffee 6y ago
    My goal is that musicians get fairly paid for their work as opposed to making sure I am following every subtle licensing technicality in my own home, which is only an exercise in pedantry and accomplishes nothing practical for musicians. I don't talk with the attorneys who create these complex licensing rules at Amazon, iTunes, etc. I talk to musicians. None of whom have ever had a problem with listening to their music with a small group of friends or family. The problem is with a platform that allows me to fire up a server and then invite thousands or millions of people to listen to someone's music for free.
  - choward 6y ago
    Do you remember CDs, cassettes, records, etc.? Is it illegal to let family listen to those?
- _jal 6y ago
  Be sure you soundproof your home/apartment, and don't turn it up too much in the car. Don't want to accidentally leak any copyrighted joy to your neighbors without payment!
  - tchaffee 6y ago
    Seems like you are being sarcastic, but yes, if you play loud enough and to a big enough audience you do indeed owe royalties. In fact bars and restaurants are required to pay for this exact reason.

LockAndLol 6y ago

Donations I think. They should be able to add links to their homepage, PayPal, patreon, etc. Or maybe that's an upcoming future, I can't remember exactly.

tchaffee 6y ago
If this is an existing feature, or when they add it, the platform becomes way more interesting to me. I'd love to pay musicians directly instead of the embarrassingly low payouts from services like Spotify.
- lomereiter 6y ago
  A feature would be nice to have, but right now you can just go to an artist-friendly shop (such as Bandcamp or Qobuz) and buy an album of the artist you'd like to support.

Zigurd 6y ago

Agate Berriot, the lead developer of Funkwhale, is creating a donation mechanism https://agate.blue/2019/06/09/introducing-retribute-a-decentralized-open-effort-to-support-creators.html https://agate.blue/2019/06/09/introducing-retribute-a-decent...

52-6F-62 6y ago

I want to be surprised by how controversial this simple question seemed to be, and yet I'm not. I'm disappointed, though.

reimbar 6y ago

Donations, according to the creators of Funkwhale. Some comments here are making assumptions about the motivations/ethical principles of the developers, but how about reading directly what they say? It turns out that they've been thinking quite a lot about this problem: https://agate.blue/blog/2018/05/11/funkwhale-content-monetization-trust/ https://agate.blue/blog/2018/05/11/funkwhale-content-monetiz...

pontifier 6y ago

People who run servers will probably fall under the Music Modernization Act. Every DSP (Digital Service Provider) is required to register with the Mechanical Licensing collective, and the administrative fee is $5,000 per year if you fall under the threshold number of streams. If you pass that, then it's $60,000 to unlimited... Of course you'll have to file monthly reports and pay the royalties due under the blanket license as well.