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This is Spotify's route to profitability - the Netflix model of generating their own "content" (/music), and not having to pay the labels. Premium plans for us
by smallerfish 3y ago
This is Spotify's route to profitability - the Netflix model of generating their own "content" (/music), and not having to pay the labels. Premium plans for us music nerds who want a human at the other end, regular plans for plebs who just want to fill the silence with something agreeable.
- CharlesW 3y agoAlthough I think AI-generated and AI-augmented (using voice cloning, etc.) artists are a given, for Spotify to stop paying labels they'd have to be able to remove all non-Spotify content from their streaming catalog. That doesn't seem like a possibility in our lifetimes. (Also, Spotify hasn't even been able to build a sustainable business on podcasts, which they copy to their closed platform for free.) It's an interesting thought experiment, though. I can imagine that "environmental audio" companies like Muzak have about 5 years left before they either adapt or die. What other kinds of companies are in trouble?
- smallerfish 3y agoTheir current pay structure is royalties, i.e. per listen. If they can route their audience to mostly AI generated content in time (say, 5-10 year transition), and it's just as good for most people, then they can negotiate much lower prices with the labels. We all grumble about Netflix being full of junk, but most of us are still subscribers, despite a sparse catalog of big name movies.
- hobofan 3y ago> then they can negotiate much lower prices with the labels Or alternatively, if the labels are not stupid, they'll negotiate for a higher price per listen (or similar), as they are still as essential to the service as before.