5 ms·

It's great to listen legally, but keep in mind that the support artists receive is very small (all but the most popular musicians receive less than 40 hours of

by qq66 13y ago

It's great to listen legally, but keep in mind that the support artists receive is very small (all but the most popular musicians receive less than 40 hours of minimum wage from Spotify). If you like a few groups consider buying merchandise or making a donation.

pionar 13y ago
Wait, are you saying that artists rely just on Spotify for income? That would be foolhardy. I would think that Spotify would be just one small chunk in a wide portfolio of distribution channels. Also, artists have generally never been very richly paid on music sales. Touring and merch are where the money's always been.
- wwweston 13y ago
  > Wait, are you saying that artists rely just on Spotify for income? That would be foolhardy. Well, yes. Since the entire premise of Spotify seems to be that we should pay broadcast royalty rates for a service that replaces recordings entirely, it would indeed be pretty foolish to rely on that. And in fact, some artists think it's so foolish they've realized its to their advantage not to participate. > I would think that Spotify would be just one small chunk in a wide portfolio of distribution channels. The problem being that once something's available on Spotify (or something like it), the structure of the service eliminates any access-incentive to look for it anywhere else. > Also, artists have generally never been very richly paid on music sales. Touring and merch are where the money's always been. This is pretty different from the history I'm familiar with -- touring supported/drove album sales for a long time, except for certain acts (huge like the Stones, jam-oriented like the Dead or Phish, or nostalgia focused). And people made a ton of money from recordings (though it wasn't always the artists because of gatekeepers). The reverse is often true now mostly because we entered a transition to a new format with the uptake getting waaay out ahead of the vendors and legit recording sales collapsed (and then, right as we started to see vendors come on board, we had the biggest economic contraction since the great depression). This isn't an inevitable trend, and revenue from recording sales this year is increasing again this year based largely digital sales increasing faster than physical sales are falling. And total revenue from recordings sales, while much smaller than what it was at its peak around 2000, is actually 50% more than it was at the beginning of the 1990s. We could yet see another golden age of recorded music. This time better in that digital albums are cheaper and, with a shorter distribution chain, people who make the music are often keeping more. At least, that's the potential. Unless we decide to go with buffet-streaming services that remove incentives to buy it. But maybe that's the next step for our culture: if art can't be supported by t-shirts and tchotchkes, it's not art that we should be economically encouraging, right?
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- tunesmith 13y ago
  This is one of those zombie beliefs that never die. I can't blame any particular person for holding it, but it's really not accurate. Touring and merch is just as much of a grind as music sales.
- kitsune_ 13y ago
  Yes, if you are Madonna, touring really pays off. For everybody else, not so much. Why do we have to sugarcoat all of this? Spotify and similar services are a ridiculous proposition.
nl 13y ago
I think it's probably fair to say to following: Statistically, all but the most popular musicians receive less than 40 hours of minimum wage
bobbles 13y ago
How long will it be until artists start using product placement and full blown advertising within the actual content of their songs to get around these things..?
- inglondon 13y ago
  If you listen to any hip-hop track made in the last 5 years you will find that is already the case with a good percentage of said tracks. I met a guy recently who's only job was to find brands to partner with this young but fairly well known hip-hop artist. He charges around $500,000 per mention. It should be possible to calculate rough revenues by going through lyrics on Rap Genius.

by qq66 13y ago

pionar 13y ago

Wait, are you saying that artists rely just on Spotify for income? That would be foolhardy. I would think that Spotify would be just one small chunk in a wide portfolio of distribution channels. Also, artists have generally never been very richly paid on music sales. Touring and merch are where the money's always been.

wwweston 13y ago
> Wait, are you saying that artists rely just on Spotify for income? That would be foolhardy. Well, yes. Since the entire premise of Spotify seems to be that we should pay broadcast royalty rates for a service that replaces recordings entirely, it would indeed be pretty foolish to rely on that. And in fact, some artists think it's so foolish they've realized its to their advantage not to participate. > I would think that Spotify would be just one small chunk in a wide portfolio of distribution channels. The problem being that once something's available on Spotify (or something like it), the structure of the service eliminates any access-incentive to look for it anywhere else. > Also, artists have generally never been very richly paid on music sales. Touring and merch are where the money's always been. This is pretty different from the history I'm familiar with -- touring supported/drove album sales for a long time, except for certain acts (huge like the Stones, jam-oriented like the Dead or Phish, or nostalgia focused). And people made a ton of money from recordings (though it wasn't always the artists because of gatekeepers). The reverse is often true now mostly because we entered a transition to a new format with the uptake getting waaay out ahead of the vendors and legit recording sales collapsed (and then, right as we started to see vendors come on board, we had the biggest economic contraction since the great depression). This isn't an inevitable trend, and revenue from recording sales this year is increasing again this year based largely digital sales increasing faster than physical sales are falling. And total revenue from recordings sales, while much smaller than what it was at its peak around 2000, is actually 50% more than it was at the beginning of the 1990s. We could yet see another golden age of recorded music. This time better in that digital albums are cheaper and, with a shorter distribution chain, people who make the music are often keeping more. At least, that's the potential. Unless we decide to go with buffet-streaming services that remove incentives to buy it. But maybe that's the next step for our culture: if art can't be supported by t-shirts and tchotchkes, it's not art that we should be economically encouraging, right?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
tunesmith 13y ago
This is one of those zombie beliefs that never die. I can't blame any particular person for holding it, but it's really not accurate. Touring and merch is just as much of a grind as music sales.
kitsune_ 13y ago
Yes, if you are Madonna, touring really pays off. For everybody else, not so much. Why do we have to sugarcoat all of this? Spotify and similar services are a ridiculous proposition.

nl 13y ago

I think it's probably fair to say to following: Statistically, all but the most popular musicians receive less than 40 hours of minimum wage

bobbles 13y ago

How long will it be until artists start using product placement and full blown advertising within the actual content of their songs to get around these things..?

inglondon 13y ago
If you listen to any hip-hop track made in the last 5 years you will find that is already the case with a good percentage of said tracks. I met a guy recently who's only job was to find brands to partner with this young but fairly well known hip-hop artist. He charges around $500,000 per mention. It should be possible to calculate rough revenues by going through lyrics on Rap Genius.