9 years ago
4
Streaming Music is Ripping You Off
If you subscribe to a subscription music service such as Spotify or Apple Music you probably pay $10 a month. And if you are like most people, you probably do so believing your money goes to the artists you listen to. Unfortunately, you are wrong.
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I don't subscribe anymore and haven't for a long time.
I cancelled my Spotify subscription when they came out with the crazy "we own your data" privacy policy. Sure, the CEO came out and said "But that's not what we meant", I'm still not clicking accept on that until they change the actual wording of the privacy policy. When I accept their terms and conditions, the CEO's blog posts aren't part of that. The privacy policy is.
Click fraud is a problem, yes, and one which I hope services like Spotify are working hard to solve. This doesn't mean I'm getting ripped off, though: I'm still getting exactly the service I'm hoping for.
Now, I definitely hope that with time artists end up getting a fair share of the money spent on streaming services, but the truth is, it's the exact same bullshit with CDs and vinyls. Artists make a fraction of the CD price. CDs, and now streaming services, are ways for artists to get exposure for their music, and their real money is coming from endorsements and live tours.
That's why, I suspect, that mainstream and indie artists are not up in arms about this. They're getting known through the service, and that later translates into CD sales through word of mouth, sales of concert tickets, merchandise, etc. Beyoncé isn't going broke any time soon, Spotify or not.
Totally agree. There's problems with streaming but the alternatives are FAR worse than streaming ever could be.