Off the Record - April Edition

The music industry is broken.

What else is new? Alright. How do we fix it then?

When Spotify launched 17 years ago (yes…), it was a good fix. It was. Napster was king, and paid streaming is better than free downloads in my book.

But the industry now is not what it was in 2008. Many things have happened. And last year, Spotify changed the rules, and it all went downhill from there. It was the topic of the very first Off the Record I sent, some of you were already there.

Downhill for indie artists, of course. Once again, the Majors are back in control and getting more than their fair share of revenue. How so? What’s the difference?

They are getting our money, that’s how. If one of your songs is not reaching 1000 streams, the royalties it generates are not paid out to you. Instead, they are pooled up in a big jar and split between more ‘professional’ artists.

That means they get a better rate than your 0.003$ per stream.

And guess who has their hand in that cookie jar? Yes, the Big Three, no one else.

So even if you listen to indie artists all day, your subscription money is likely going to Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter or Billie Eilish.

Enough is enough. We need to take a stand, and we need to take it now.

What is the solution? First, we need to recognise that this is a monopoly.
The whole system is broken.

However, before blaming the big players for everything, we need to change the mindset. Over the last 20 years, people have been told that music is free.

It is not.

As you very well know, it takes a whole lot of resources to create a record. Whether it’s time or money or both, it does not appear out of thin air.

How about a pay per stream model?

At the moment, we have an entrance fee. Think of it as the cover charge you pay to get into a cool party. You pay 12$ a month, and you can listen to almost all the music ever created.

In what universe is this okay?

You listen to a song? You get charged for that song. Period. And just like that, music becomes purposeful again.

1 stream, 1 cent.

Those 12 bucks would still allow you to listen to close to two hours of music per day for an entire month! And if you go over that, you should be paying for those cents. And they should go to the artist you’re listening to.

If you can’t pay more, you shouldn’t listen more. Two hours of intentional listening every day is a lot. This is not about putting music on in the background.

If you want some background noise, put the radio on. There are hundreds of indie radios with wonderful programming.
And save your two hours for the songs you truly want to listen to.

Music is not a right. It never was. Music is a privilege.

If you have half an hour and want to go deeper into the numbers, watch this video.

But in any case, please consider signing this petition.

It might not seem like much, but we have to start somewhere. It will take time, but this is a battle worth fighting. Complaining alone isn’t going to level the playing field.

We need to come together if we want to make a change.

But then again, what do I know...

Why Do the Pills Work?

PSA

Last month, I worked my ass off to create a brand-new website. It’s finally up and running, and I’m quite proud of the result.

I’d love for you to see it.

Massive thanks to all the artists I work with for their kind words and lovely tunes. Nothing happens without your trust.

Ps: please remind your friends and family to subscribe.