Als artiest valt eigenlijk alleen nog maar geld te verdienen met live optredens. De verkoop van platen en CD’s staat al jarenlang onder druk, maar ook de streams en downloads van de bekende providers levert bijna niks op. In onderstaand artikel wordt het e.e.a. op een rij gezet:

Why musicians need to get off Apple Music and Spotify immediately

These are insanely complex times for musicians. With virtually no consultation, musicians and independent labels are being led down the path of the streaming music construct controlled largely by technology companies. Streaming royalties for these services remain mired in mystery. And nobody is privy to how royalties are calculated or assigned to different players in the streaming ecosystem. In what other industry would suppliers offer their goods to distributors without being told precisely how much they’ll receive for their inventory?

Essentially, we’re in the middle of a perfect storm. Once the storm concludes, we’re looking at the decimation of the commercial music industry.

It began with Napster and listener complicity. Industry panic and an increasingly entitled, self-centered public emerged with the belief that music should be free. Musicians and independent labels jumped along for the ride when Spotify, Rhapsody, MOG, and the rest of the streaming companies essentially constructed services with payouts so low, the end result isn’t much different than piracy. That, however, doesn’t hold true for the core investors in these services, which include the old major label guard. For instance, Spotify’s key backers include Warner, Sony and Universal.

Bron: Anil Prasad in The Daily Dot