Spot(ify) The Difference

As I write this I am currently in a hotel room near Birmingham recording bass guitar for someone’s album. Will it be on Spotify? Probably. Do I care? Kind of, but it’s all very complicated.

So the argument. Do we/will we have to pay for music anymore? The answer is no but with a cost. A cost! You just said that we don’t have to pay for music anymore?

A moral cost that can and in my opinion will turn whole system of music streaming upside down.

Spotify, a great streaming service that we can all use to listen to music, we know that but as we know some songs, albums, artists are not featured on it. That’s fair enough. If they don’t want to they don’t have to.

Now we have numerous artists leaving Spotify in their hoards. All because they don’t earn as much through this streaming service.

That’s just how things work in the music business. It’s all about the money, I can honestly vouch for that. Is it fair? No not really but it’s how business goes. Lets have an example, I publish a lovely new album, I sell it on Itunes, Cd format, it’s on Spotify and there are numerous music videos for it on Youtube etc.

Oh no, sales are down! Why haven’t I sold any albums? £20 royalties in the bank is that all I’m worth to you? What am I going to do? It’s all that Spotify’s fault!

Probably not Spotify’s fault. If I may. fair enough I am being ripped off by Spotify by the look of it. CD sales have been decreasing for years. Itunes is Itunes.

Oh my record company has uploaded my music videos to Youtube? 12 Billion views? (Actual number may vary) So people are streaming my music on Youtube Instead of buying it.

Look. In my opinion use whatever service you want to listen to your favourite artists. It doesn’t matter. Buy a CD or use Spotify, but buy some merchandise or tickets to see theirnext show. It’s a lot better than listening to them for free and just getting 0.4p per listen from advertisements.

All musicians should be paid fairly on all platforms.

Music services need to look at themselves and see what is happening to the industry before they ruin it for good. Pay the artists fairly and everyone will come to Spotify or whatever company you are.

Don’t rip them off and force them away.