As technology continues to advance, the music industry has undergone a major change. Gone are the days where music lovers had to physically purchase albums or CDs to listen to their favorite songs. Today, the majority of music is consumed via digital streaming services. However, as these services have become increasingly popular, there has been growing concern about the amount of money they pay artists per stream. In this article, we’ll explore why digital music streaming services are considered a rip off and how much artists really get paid.
Firstly, let’s discuss why some people believe that digital music streaming services are a rip-off. One of the main arguments against these services is that they pay artists a very small amount for their music. Some artists have reported receiving just a fraction of a penny per stream, which hardly seems like a fair compensation for their work.
In addition, many artists are also unhappy with the fact that streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music offer their music for free (with ads) to users who are unwilling to pay for a premium subscription. This not only decreases the amount of revenue that the artist will earn from their streams, but also reduces the overall value of music as a whole.
Moreover, these streaming services are also known for manipulating the algorithms, to give priority to the big labels to have their songs streamed more frequently, hence smaller artists who are unable to gain access to these algorithms get minimal streams which in turn results in lower earnings for the artists and pushes them out of the industry.
But how much do artists actually get paid? The amount varies depending on which streaming service is being used. According to recent reports, Spotify pays an average of $.0038 per stream, while Apple Music pays around $.0064 per stream. Other services such as Amazon Music and Pandora pay even less, with Amazon paying $.0040 and Pandora paying $.0013 per stream respectively.
It’s important to note that these figures can fluctuate depending on various factors, but it’s clear that the current payments will hardly pay off the cost of recording, producing and marketing their music, let alone any living expense.
In conclusion, while digital music streaming services have undoubtedly made music more accessible to millions of people, the fact remains that the amount they pay artists per stream is not enough to sustain their livelihood. The industry needs to come along with new mechanisms to ensure payouts are just and fair to the artists- power must be distributed equally and not just allowed to remain with big labels. This is a conversation the music industry must have and protect the intellectual property of the artists who are the backbone of music itself.