Streaming Music Services

http://time.com/3936621/streaming-music-services/

David Lowery
June 25, 2015


David Lowery is a singer songwriter and guitarist for the bands Camper Van Beethoven and Cracker.
I'm paid about 1/7 less when listeners stream my songs for free

The debate about how streaming music services are affecting the music industry is often framed as “artists against streaming services.” But the issue is more nuanced than that.

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Apple Music wasn’t going to pay artists at all for the free trial. But even when services do pay, there’s a huge discrepancy between the free tier and the subscription tier. Rates are split between artists, labels and other players. By my calculation on my albums on Spotify, the free tier pays me about one-seventh what the subscription tier pays, and there’s a similar difference on other services that offer a free and a paid option. If I were paid only when free users stream my songs, it would not be sustainable for me as an artist.

Streaming music is clearly the future. Consumers want it. It’s convenient. But it often feels as if, as artists and songwriters, we’re being asked to subsidize these new services. I didn’t see Pandora or Spotify employees offering to forgo their paychecks while the services got off the ground. If services offer a free tier, they should bear the burden, not artists.

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