3.38 Million Reasons Why Spotify Has a Serious Problem…

Somewhere along the treacherous path towards streaming, artists decided to let Spotify win. They weren’t going to get paid properly, accounted to properly, or benefit from all the free, ad-supported streaming that has made investors and executives rich. But maybe they’d get some exposure that would fuel some other revenue avenues, like touring, sponsorships, or even merchandise.

Who knows, maybe they’d get onto a big playlist and score a survival payout like Perrin Lamb.

...it became obvious that artists who decided to fight the system would die in obscurity trying. Better to dance with the devil then risk a total non-career.

Into this exhausted acquiescence enters Adele, who somehow sold an astounding 3.38 million copies of her latest album. Most importantly, 100% of those sales were either album downloads, CDs, or vinyl, which deliver far superior payouts than streaming (and typically, far better transparency). All of which raises some very serious questions for Spotify and other streaming services, a group at the vanguard of music consumption but oftentimes perceived as the enemy by artists and creators.

So what’s an artist to do in these tumultuous times?

... We all know that ad-supported streaming is a raw deal for almost everyone except music fans, the streaming services themselves, and investors in those streaming services. Adele certainly knows that. And so does Taylor Swift, and both have taken action against the unfairness. But those catalog gaps haven’t slowed Spotify and fans don’t really care about complaining artists and compensation problems (just ask Tidal).

The question now is whether the vast remainder of artists, including a larger number of bigger names, decide to shift their strategies in the wake of Adele’s record-breaking success. 3.38 million albums is also 3.38 million fans, all of whom gladly steered past streaming and supported an artist they loved. So maybe this is all just another Taylor Swift moment, or maybe something far more serious.

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#Sales #Artist #Streaming