FEATURE:
Down to a Trickle
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Can Spotify Follow Bandcamp’s Lead in Assisting Artists During This Challenging Period?
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AS we all know…
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the next few weeks and months are going to impact everyone pretty hard. For those in the music industry, finances are going to be hard to come by. I have seen a lot of people recordings gigs from homes and delivering music that way. There are bigger artists who are putting out albums still, and one can buy music as normal – although many record stores are closing; online delivery continues. It is an odd time, and the industry has had to adapt fast. I am not sure what state it will be in when it comes out the other end, but there will be a lot of damage and long-lasting losses. For artists who rely on streaming as their main source of revenue, I wonder whether platforms like Spotify need to do more. Although people are urged to buy albums and merchandise from artists, so many people are short of money and conscious about budgets when they are struggling for work or have to save their pennies. Last Friday (20th), Bandcamp did something pretty special:
“The Covid-19 pandemic is in full force, and artists have been hit especially hard as tours and shows are being canceled for the foreseeable future. With such a major revenue stream drying up almost entirely, finding ways to continue supporting artists in the coming months is now an urgent priority for anyone who cares about music and the artists who create it. The good news is that we’re already seeing many fans going above and beyond to support artists across Bandcamp.
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To raise even more awareness around the pandemic’s impact on musicians everywhere, we’re waiving our revenue share on sales today (Friday, March 20th, from midnight to midnight Pacific Time), and rallying the Bandcamp community to put much needed money directly into artists’ pockets.
For many artists, a single day of boosted sales can mean the difference between being able to pay rent or not. Still, we consider this just a starting point. Musicians will continue to feel the effects of lost touring income for many months to come, so we’re also sharing some ideas below on how fans can support the artists they love and how artists can give fans new, creative ways to provide support.
It may sound simple, but the best way to help artists is with your direct financial support, and we hope you’ll join us both today and through the coming months as we work to support artists in this challenging time”.
Although Bandcamp waved their revue cut for a day, it was a big gesture that helped a lot of artists out. With venues closed for the foreseeable future, streaming is going to be a large focus. Music will help so many people out and fill a gap that was once occupied by gigs and socialising. Even when we are allowed back out to socialise, it won’t be the case of venues opening up and gigs taking place right away – there will be a lot of rebooking and a slow transition and adaption.
IMAGE CREDIT: Bandcamp
Most of us use Spotify in some form or other. In this report from last month, there is information regarding Spotify’s royalties and how much artists are paid by the stream:
“Since its inception in 2008, royalties have been Spotify's largest expense, accounting for about $1 billion over its first five years.
The company once ranked as one of the industry's worst royalty payers, but it is steadily increasing its payments. Its per-play rate was 0.00437 cents in 2019, according to Digital Music News.
(The worst-paying platform historically is YouTube. Its rate in 2019 reportedly was 0.00069 cents.)
Per stream royalty payments are estimated to be .006 cents for basic service and .0084 cents for premium subscribers. However with large overhead costs, the Swedish company is still estimated to gross $1.2 billion from its 10 million paying subscribers alone. Spotify was recently valued at $8.3 billion”.
Most musicians are self-employed, so there is a petition online that is asking the Government for protection; to ensure that those who work in sectors like music are kept alive. Streaming has always been a source of debate, as the amount artists are paid is very low. It would seem appropriate for a service like Spotify to react to the pandemic and, for a few months at least, do what they can to assist artists and creatives at this hard time.
IMAGE CREDIT: Spotify
With people, perhaps, watching live-streamed gigs and streaming music less – as there is not as much new music as possible -, it is a tough situation. This report from The Guardian from last week analysed the situation at the moment:
“Musicians are calling on Spotify to triple its royalty rates following the coronavirus pandemic. Due to government guidance, many venues have closed and tours have been cancelled, removing what has become a key revenue stream for the majority of artists.
An online petition posted by musician Evan Greer asked Spotify to triple its rates permanently and make a $500,000 (£432,140) donation to the Covid-19 fund of Sweet Relief, a California-based charity that provides financial assistance to musicians and industry workers.
A spokesperson for Spotify told the Guardian: “There’s no question this is a challenging time for our creator community and we are working to assist them through MusiCares’ Covid-19 relief fund to provide much needed assistance.”
Analysts for Quartz found that Spotify streaming figures appeared to have dropped during the pandemic. In Italy, one of the hardest-hit countries by Covid-19, the Top 200 most-streamed songs domestically averaged 18.3m total streams per day in February 2019. Since the national lockdown was announced on 9 March, that figure has not topped 14.4m. Quartz found a 23% drop in the Top 200 streams on 17 March compared to 3 March. It reported similar findings in the US, UK, France and Spain”.
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I know there is not an inexhaustible supply of money, but organisations like Spotify have enough money to get by for the future. I think there should be an amended rate for streaming; an increase in revenue for all artists. Maybe some of the wealthier artists might think about compromising and funnelling some of their profit to help smaller acts, but I do think Spotify need to help cover artists who will struggle. On social media, artists are encouraging people to buy and stream their music more, and it is a perfect opportunity to listen to more music and experience a wider range of sounds. We are only a week or two into the self-isolation/social distancing stage of the coronavirus, so it will be a while before we can see just what toll a lack of streaming is having – clearly, there is going to be hardship for many. Artists rely more and more on Spotify and other services, and it is troubling to consider how little money most artists will get for the coming months. In a wider context, I think Spotify need to re-evaluate how much artists receive per stream, and maybe ensure that everyone who uses their platform pays a subscription fee – a larger one than they charge at the moment, too. For the rest of us, we can buy merchandise and physical music as artists cannot tour right now and, if you are streaming less at the moment, consider reversing that decision so that you can…
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HELP artists who really need support right now.