Spotify has made an announcement that could be a big jolt to smaller or upcoming artists, trying to make a living on Spotify. According to the new announcement, any songs that do not have more than 1000 plays through the year will not be eligible for any payment whatsoever. The music streaming giant was criticised for underpaying the artists on its platforms, but now it seems that some of them won’t earn a dime unless their content satisfies the new criteria. When asked about this decision, Spotify indicated that the move was done to eliminate fraudsters on the platform. The company feels that the money is better off in the hands of artists who make good music and have the streaming stats to prove it.
Coming to the ‘noise’ content, which includes background sounds for relaxation, focus, etc. Spotify has announced that any noise content that is shorter than two minutes will also not receive any payment. Other eligible noise content will receive reduced payment compared to actual songs. The company has yet to throw more light on this, so we will have to wait for some time.
According to Spotify, these cuts in payouts will release up to $1 billion in the next five years, and these savings will be used for paying artists going forward. There is again no real evidence to prove this finding, and Spotify has been asked to provide more clarity on the matter in the coming days.
The streaming giant went on to say that while 99.5% of the songs qualify for payouts, the remaining 0.5% account for almost $40 million per year, which is a considerable chunk of revenue, and it is this revenue that they wish to salvage. It remains to be seen how all of this pans out, but whatever it is, we believe Spotify should start paying artists better as the money these artists earn is a part of their livelihood, and it is their music that keeps streaming platforms running and relevant.
