Yesterday, I wrote about the Campaigns feature which Spotify are currently allowing a limited number of artists to test out – because they’re kind like that, obviously.
This would basically put Spotify into a similar position to Facebook – where in order to give yourself any sort of significant reach, you have to dig into your pockets and send money to Mr Zuckerberg. Because $130billion is obviously not enough money.
Which poses a question. If you’re a new or upcoming artist, why on earth should you waste your time putting your money on Spotify? Because the blunt truth is, they don’t want you there. They’re not going to promote you. They’re not going to help other people find your music. And they’re definitely not going to be paying you – quite the opposite if the Campaigns feature kicks off.
If you’re starting out now, it quite literally makes no sense to bother with Spotify. When you’re on Bandcamp or your own website, you can communicate with the people whom are listening to your music or buying your merchandise. You can get their email addresses and stay in touch. You can send them nice little extras. On Spotify, or any of the streaming sites? You can’t do any of those things. Anything which might send you away from Spotify, they simply won’t let you do it.
Since I stepped back from making music myself, I’ve come to realise a few things. I was always wary of streaming, but I see the full story now – and it infuriates me. Streaming doesn’t exist for the benefit of artists – it exists solely for the benefit of rich majors, who own stakes and shares in Spotify, and to enrichen Daniel Ek.
The company can afford to pay an average salary of $132,000 a year (according to 2019 figures) yet it also expects us to believe it can’t afford to pay artists a penny a stream.
What a load of absolute rubbish. And a whole generation of promising, talented new musicians are being terribly let down by this shambolics system that just doesn’t care about them…