"Sponsored recommendations": I pay for Spotify Premium, and yet somehow I'm still the product?
"Sponsored recommendations": I pay for Spotify Premium, and yet somehow I'm still the product?
I opened Spotify this morning to be greeted by a modal popup with a "sponsored recommendation".
Why am I seeing ads if I'm already paying for the premium plan!? 😑
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So if Spotify pays artists so poorly (I'm not claiming they don't), then why do those artists stay on the platform? I have no qualms about using my paid Spotify account. I don't really care how much they pay artists as long as they are paying artists.
Critical mass. They remove their songs from Spotify and the likelyhood of people changing platforms to keep listening to them is next to zero.
In a past thread on this topic, I've seen a few indie artists say that they benefit because Spotify amplifies their audience. They make crap on the streams, but a larger audience base is worth the trade-off since they'll be able to sell more concert tickets and merchandise.
Spotify has definitely helped me to discover new artists, but then I mostly listen to that artist on Spotify (Mostly because I'm not in their country.)
Honestly spotify should really let small artists make their pages more interesting.
One of my arguments is that inde artists and creators are as responsible for the enshitification of the internet as companies like google and Facebook are. They both are invested in making the internet into some global bazaar instead of a library.
How so?
No streaming platforms pay well. Are you saying that artists should pull out of all streaming services? How would new artists get their music to a general audience?
I'm saying artists seem to be doing fine. If they don't like how much Spotify is paying them, they are welcome to pull their music from the platform and put it in other places.
The choice is between getting paid pennies but with some exposure vs not getting paid at all with zero exposure. Obviously Spotify is the better choice, but it doesn't mean that it's a good choice for artists trying to make a living.
They aren't entitled to anything. Just like the rest of us, if they are not happy with the amount they are being paid for their work, they are free to go work somewhere else.
You have no idea what you're talking about. What you're saying is basically a "you criticize society yet you live in it" argument. The artists that you perceive as doing fine are the ones making money off of ticket and merch sales. This is where Spotify as a marketing opportunity comes in. You need a following to sell tickets and merch. Basically your only option to garner a following is to put your music in the places where people consume it most.
Hey, Youtube is free to upload. Get your shit out there. These artists are no more entitled to money than I am for doing my job. If I don't like what I'm paid, I go find a different place to work. They can do the same thing. If they insist on making shitty music and whining that they aren't paid enough, that's no one's fault but their own. Society owes them nothing.
If they insist on making shitty music and whining that they aren't paid enough, that's no one's fault but their own.
No. It's the fault of the greedy profit hungry streaming services. You can try to diminish the bands complaining by calling their music shitty but I regularly work with bands as an audio engineer and I can tell you without a doubt that many of the most talented musicians I've worked with need to make music as a side hustle because it doesn't pay the bills.
The reality is that presence on streaming services is essential for growth as an artist in this day and age. Youtube isn't going to to cut it. People are allowed to complain that a system is exploitative. You're also ignoring the fact that even though streaming services pay peanuts, peanuts are better than nothing. Taking music off of streaming services deprives you of the miniscule income you get from it and deprives you of the publicity you get. The only way to get a following is to be on as many of the major platforms as possible. I'm not sure why that's so difficult to understand. More people listening means more people potentially buying tickets or merch which is where the real money is.
Edit:
These artists are no more entitled to money than I am for doing my job.
This also might be one of the most stupid things I've read. Everyone is entitled to fair compensation for their work. You are, musicians are, everyone is.
I’ve worked with need to make music as a side hustle because it doesn’t pay the bills
So do it, why are they so special?
You live in a fantasy world my man. Things aren't fair, they never will be. we do the best we can with what we've got. I have no more sympathy for these people than the hard working people down at the local whatever, struggling to make ends meet.