Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has come under some fire for a recent interview with Music Ally, where he said artists cannot operate as they have in the past, putting out albums only every three or four years.
WordPlay T. Jay has seen the buzz around Ek’s statements, and he things to degree, Ek is right, but there is another layer to the issue on Spotify’s end of the agreement.
Ek said in the Music Ally interview, “There is a narrative fallacy here, combined with the fact that, obviously, some artists that used to do well in the past may not do well in this future landscape, where you can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough. The artists today that are making it realize that it’s about creating a continuous engagement with their fans. It is about putting the work in, about the storytelling around the album, and about keeping a continuous dialogue with your fans.”
T. Jay agrees with quite a bit of that, especially for independent artists.
“Artists got upset, but he’s right,” T. Jay said. “All he said in that statement is that there is a new landscape, and artists need to get that through their minds. We are in La La Land if we think we can go back to selling CDs at $15 a pop and they will fly off the shelves.”
T. Jay said making money off music has become more algorithmic, more about the math and numbers and less about the art.
“The art is what artists want to share, I get that, but you have to think of your brand these days like a Netflix series,” T. Jay said. “If everyone wants to watch you, you have to do enough where they can have something new every week or enough where they can binge what you have already done.
“You have to treat it as a sitcom, not as a a giant art piece you put out once every few years.”
T. Jay said today’s music climate, driven by streaming services, was at the request of the consumer, and artists and labels have to accept that.
“Right now, consumers want streams more than anything, and we have to accept that,” he said. “Some artists sign these big big deals with labels that take 88 percent of the money and they get 12 percent and the label doesn’t care at all about who they are. If you’re independent, you have to manage tour business, and if you’re with a label, you have to understand your contract.”
T. Jay said while Ek was right to say what he said, there is a lot about music from the artists’ point that he doesn’t understand.
“As an artist, to make music on a weekly basis is very hard to do,” T. Jay said. “It’s not easy to write something in one week that you believe in and that will move other people. Making music is an art form and cannot be reduced to a science.”
T. Jay also said since Spotify made $2 billion in its second quarter, keeping $500 million in profits, he thinks there is some wiggle room for the company to have better payouts for artists.
“There are things Spotify pays out for other than royalties, I get that,” he said. “But, they are also taking advantage of artists who are not aware of all those other things like mechanical and licensing, and if they made artists aware, they would have to spend more money.”
T. Jay said the bigger concern is that 80 percent of money made in the music industry does not go to the artists.
“There should be a better balance there,” he said. “Why can’t Spotify pay artists better. If Title can struggle to grow but pay artists more; if Amazon can put up a paywall and pay artists more; if Apple Music can pay double what Spotify pays — why can’t Spotify, as the biggest streamer in the industry, pay more?”
T. Jay said to meet the poverty line in the U.S. of $13,000, an artist would need 3 million streams per year. And, for T. Jay to replace his day job salary, he would have to get 13 million streams per year.
“It’s on me to get there, and I understand that,” he said. “But, I feel like there is more room in Spotify’s pockets to make it easier for artists. Think of it this way — Spotify, can you give artists a raise?”
T. Jay said if the company can move to paying one penny per stream, the platform would skyrocket in use because more artists would be on board.
“This whole argument is two-sided,” T. Jay said. “Artists need to do their part, but Spotify needs to offer a little bit more.”
For more about T. Jay’s opinion on Ek and his statement, check out the video below!