Music creators on Spotify, other streaming services?
I've been reading about musicians' gripes with Spotify and other music streaming services — specifically on how low they are paid.
On Spotify, artists need about 3.5 million streams per year to earn a full-time, minimum-wage gig of $15,080, according to the Harvard Business Review. Spotify usually pays between $.003 and $.005 per stream, meaning artists need roughly 250 streams to make a dollar.
So, basically, you need to be wildly popular on Spotify to make a living by streaming music.
Are there any musicians or bands on Indie Hackers that might be interested in discussing their experience streaming music? Has it worked for you? Have you looked to alternative distribution platforms? Have you avoided it altogether? Or perhaps someone is building a streaming platform that pays artists more?
Share your experience in the comments and I'd love to talk with you for a potential article. Thanks!
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Hello Bobby Burch. Yes, that is right. Spotify pays very little and it's impossible for an artist to live off of it. I'll tell you more, at the beginning my band even had to buy the first listeners on https://spotistar.com/ in order to somehow advertise themselves. Therefore, musicians can only consider Spotify as a source of a small additional income, but not the main income. It's my opinion.
Hi Bobby,
In my opinion, the problem is not just the streaming platforms that pay low, but the companies (big labels) who license the catalogs to the platforms.
Yes, it is true that Spotify pays low, but also true that the biggest chunk of capital that they generate goes to the right holders (which is around 75% of the revenue).
So to me, the solution is not changing the streaming industry, but actually, build platforms that serve artists in new ways: Owning their creations, building new streams of revenue, and new ways of growth and engagement.
i know this is an old comment, but hopefully you're still around @arnaubosch
i agree and think the landscape has changed for these artists. major apps like apple music and spotify will continue to pay low, but artists can leverage either low-cost (or even no-cost) platforms if these platforms are built to drive user-engagement. music demographics are vital too, while you might want your music service to cater to all types of music, there are plenty of niches within the marketplace.
Currently, listening to music on Spotify is the best.
I love to listen to music, with top trending music streaming music apps like Spotify, SoundCloud, Resso, Appl Music and many more provide large and updated songs for us. I really enjoy my favorite songs.
Isn't Youtube better for that? I can tell you that I check many music creators there, especially the ones who are into piano music, and not so long ago, I finally decided to order a piano from https://steinway.co.uk/pianos/upright-pianos/essex-uprights/ because I've been really into this music instrument, and who knows, maybe I'll get on Youtube as well.
Celticado, one of the bands we support, is a Spotify/Apple/GoogleMusic recording artist. They have reported zero income from any of the 3 channels. They get their income from playing for weddings and private events: www.celticado.net
Very Interesting Bobby, thanks for the article.
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