True, but for the most part, the rights holders will be the labels representing the artists, and they'll have some kind of deal in play, so if you squint the ar

True, but for the most part, the rights holders will be the labels representing the artists, and they'll have some kind of deal in play, so if you squint the artist still gets paid. Sure, many label-artist deals are bad. But that's a different issue, and putting Spotify into the mix doesn't change the situation. Spotify is still paying the rights holders. The only artists who aren't getting paid at all are the aging ones who sold all their rights to some conglomerates (Bob Dylan etc). They got paid via a normal record deal in the past, then they got some rights back after the old deals expired, then they sold their rights again for a lump sum and no promise of a return of the rights. Today, these artists get paid by their retirement portfolios not their music rights.