Congress PRESSURES Spotify To Pay Musicians MORE?

[@IAmTheIpiphany]

240,000 streams monthly to create minimum wage at the new penny rate still sounds like robbery. Versus selling 240 albums at $10 if you so choose. DTC sounds way more reachable

[@BizzyBuzz]

Nice ! And it's doable .. 8-10 sales a day want weekends off 11 sales a day, and that's minimum outreach ingredients to 1000-10000 new people daily....

[@BizzyBuzz]

@georgewoolf6300 you can still sell digital. Maybe we can use a print on demand type design for this process as different product formats may be needed

[@IAmTheIpiphany]

@georgewoolf6300 $432 investment for a $2400 minimum return based on a pay what you want model. That’s a gross of $1,968. Sounds like good ROI to me.

[@Mr.Fella95]

Dude idk, I am getting like 50k streams a month which about like $200 a month or so currently. If they upped it to this number I’d make like $1000 a month HUGE increase

[@MajorMoment]

just curious, how many albums do you sell a month?

[@everythingknew]

The fact that people clapping for a penny lets you know the depth of the programming that has been happening over the past couple of decades.

[@OfficialStevenCravis]

Great point!

[@SteveAdamsChannel]

I decided to get off the hamster wheel 2 years ago!

[@izackpaz]

i didn’t know music streaming has existed for over 20 years 😂😂

[@everythingknew]

@@izackpaz ahahah close to it.. 2008 is when Spotify first started

[@amariinkosiyezwe]

@@everythingknew facts. We should have been far by now

[@Dr.G.Productions]

Am sure the homeless that sat on the street begging see more penny's then artist nowadays.

[@Wolffrmda7]

Man, now this comment is the one 💯

[@CJWagh]

Always..

[@steelokey]

They actually do lol.

[@thahyst]

Damn thatz real 😂

[@PyramidionCoaching]

“Are you ready to splurge off that penny” 😂

[@SOURHeartss215]

That’s still messed up one penny damn

[@WilliamAshleyOnline]

Do you know how many clicks that buys :) joke.

[@mistathestranger]

😂

[@RoninTheBlackFox]

Don’t spend it all in one place.

[@CurtissKingTV]

😭

[@yngpstation2689]

When she said 800,000 streams a month to get $2,000 - $2,400 a month I knew that they are forcing us to be creative and capitalizing off of it while LITERALLY feeding us crumbs in return..

[@donnibaby1]

A penny is the upgrade from .003 big jump!!!

[@Sketchnificent]

😢

[@MOORxDOPE]

True but we should be proposing much more, robbery is robbery.

[@fpvtv2222]

Going from 3 /1000 of a cent to a penny is a huge raise!

[@Wolffrmda7]

That's like saying a slave made it from picking Cotton to picking tobacco..the artist is still a slave at this point. Imagine how ill the fight will be if it was a dollar a stream 👀

[@Wolffrmda7]

​@@fpvtv2222what country u stay in that this is a raise...I hope you was kidding with this comment

[@The_brilliant_stone]

Anytime something like this happens, they find a way to pass on the price to someone else. I wouldn't be surprised if they found a way to pass the cost on to the artist.

[@lux7459]

that someone else, is probably gonna be us, the consumer lmao

[@TwdlD]

Spotify will gatekeep even more putting up more obstacles to being on their platform. Much like the record labels expect artists to already have x number of fans, which the artist has to prove and hand over access to the label.

[@CurtissKingTV]

💯

[@marcricos]

This reminds me of KZbin forcing people to not use AdBlockers, which made more people angry and they has to go back. Spotify tried to rob more from songs under 1000 streams, and it’s triggering stuff. This is what happens when you are a multi billion company that tries to bite even more. That then you get a reaction that’s against them. Thank you congresswoman!

[@waynebo248]

Congress needs to apply pressure to the major labels. That's where the issue is. The real question is how did they convince the streaming platforms to sign deals that literally nullify their entire business model?

[@mrbennett]

Maybe giving them shares in Spotify?

[@justspellstr4137]

To the labels credit .. the streaming platforms are using their old product that they own .. to build the streaming platforms .. I think the bigger question is why should new artist even put their music on DSPs

[@waynebo248]

@@justspellstr4137 That's an easy question. As an artist who is just really starting to build an audience, I have a much better chance at getting someone to listen to my music on a platform they already use than I do at getting them to come to my website. Yes, I point people to my website & Bandcamp pages, but they can't enjoy my music in the playlists they already listen to when they buy from there. So I have to do both. I can't expect everyone who listens to be a hard-core supporter. I need to serve the casual fan as well. Also, there are independent artists who are making real money on Spotify (Nic D, Connor Price, Otis McDonald to name a few.) I've been listening to some of their strategies and I'm in the process implementing them. Stay tuned!

[@yota8325]

Because the labels have always had the power

[@yota8325]

​@justspellstr4137 a new artist needs to find a audience that's why how else would you grow a fan base without Spotify or KZbin

[@soulfulandnice]

The amateur point you made was spot on! Industry standard for many years. I've seen many entertainers that grew their following in other industries and professions, but have now released musical albums. With my markering cap on, it makes perfect sense to use your existing audience to push a new craft/venture. It removes barriers. I can understand how disheartening it can feel to see someone get something easily and quickly that you've worked decades on mastering it. I really do hope the world makes equitable compensation important for ALL careers.

[@Ducewa]

There’s literally like 30 other streaming services your music spills on to, the one that pays the most is actually Napster, 1 million streams gets you around 20 to $22,000. All they’re going to do is have them pay what Napster pays.

[@timbacodes8021]

Curtiss look what you did, you know you started this Wave!

[@djgonz123]

Facts. You really did spearhead this on a higher level Curtis

[@CurtissKingTV]

Man, I appreciate you recognizing my contribution to the conversation. I’m 😢 grateful we as DIYer artists are asking the right questions and rethinking this whole thing collectively.

[@7thangelz]

i remember decades ago reading about the split the creatives get in usual contracts/deals, and when i told regular folks that just assumed artist made bank, they would be shocked. then when streaming first stepped into the scene and i saw what they were proposing, i was like, this is beyond robbery, it's a felony. a penny is a huge jump from what is now, but it's very much like the Malcolm x quote about pulling out half of the knife you stuck in my back isn't something you get praise for. the game has been rigged against artist since tin pan alley, that they keep finding new ways to screw us, anything that could make a dent in the end is welcomed. but offloading the cost to the consumer, nah

[@Mikolowbeats]

Crazy thing is while she is arguing for us to get a penny a stream. Spotify trying to not pay people anything that don’t get a certain threshold a month for that .0003 of a penny. It would definitely be more money for time, just playing guitar on a street corner.

[@DrixxMadison]

Too much like right. You're spot on again Curtiss. 💯

[@drebone1986]

I think people are confused, this bill collects as little as a penny from streaming from everywhere, this is a start not the end goal. We can always increase the royalty in the future with another revision but we gotta set the bar first and of course the real side effect would be not paying too much for streaming but people will always need music so its back to the physical artist that can sell it themselves that benefits the most in the long run.

[@Isaiah-z5r]

When i saw this a few weeks ago I knew you would make a video on this! Also shes one of the few voices in congress trying to Give a voice for palestinians. Makes sense though its her homeland!

[@lofimusicbygrizzlybeatz]

Just please don’t bundle that bill in with other BS. Please let it be stand alone

[@cerebrumexcrement]

its an independent resolution that only impacts musicians using dsps, so it would not be bundled. most likely it will not have enough traction to survive getting passed by congress.

[@artkitectbeats1622]

It's probably more like a dollar more a stream. The artists get a penny and the other 99 cents goes to the politicians who created the bill. Congress only steps in to help when they see an opportunity to put more money in their pockets. PERIOD.

[@GarrettBradfordTX]

Congress sucks but that’s not really true. This bill is good

[@metalxmetalxmetalxmetalx]

bro ur wrong. And labels are buying up artists catalogs

[@stestetsonmusic]

Our politicians would never do this in the UK we will always be Screwed we have a prime minister that doesnt care about the arts and have even said in the past if we dont earn enough we should get a proper job!

[@Cakebattered]

Don't feel bad. American politicians just talk like voters are constituents but their actual votes show that donors are their true constituents.

[@metalxmetalxmetalxmetalx]

the uk is finished lol. USA is much better to live

[@blalien777]

These artists need to go back to old days of selling albums! Get rid of the middle man that's MAKING BILLIONS!

[@BgJimy]

2:49 that's not a solution. Who's gonna pay for this ? Spotify isn't even profitable.

[@369admingroup]

I already said years ago a fraction of a penny is not a real money denomination making any language in a contract void. You have to speak real words in legal contracts. A fraction of a penny does not exsist in Any Currency of Money. It's not a real language. You've been robbed!!!

[@IAmTheIpiphany]

1 penny is wild

[@Wolffrmda7]

Supa wild 💯👀

[@darickfoxo7986]

Yeah like she thought she was doing something. That’s 8k a year consistently every year if you make 800k stream consistently a month lololol. I get better returns on some of my credit cards

[@holywatr]

@@darickfoxo7986 8k a year? you mean 96k

[@necoleasia]

Should be like 5-10$ bucks per streams fr

[@yota8325]

​@@necoleasia the listener ain't paying for 5 to 10 bucks a stream they'll just start pirating music on a big scale again if that happens

[@SHADOWBANNED1984]

A dime a stream and radio and we should charge $20 a single $100 an album

[@quesostuff1009]

Nipsey Flow

[@GriffinPoole]

ppl say anything they think sounds good, LOL...

[@MixingwithMr.A]

Thank you for what you do Curtis King! You are appreciated!

[@ISureDont]

That nine billion went to the same three companies it always goes to. The biggest part of their budget is licensing that music from the ones that are making money from streams. Labels are the issue. Streaming is just capitalizing off of that

[@yota8325]

Labels have always had the power. Unfortunately artists would make so so so much more from streaming if labels didn't exist

[@MdaKaliBoy]

Who wants Curtis in congress 😅🔥💯

[@HeyMcFli]

Fr fr

[@samuelramsey5995]

As a person who work for label and as an artist manager. It’s not the streaming services that pays so little. It’s the record label. Most people don’t understand that Spotify pays 70% of its revenue to music labels and artists from its. 003-0.005 pay. 10 billion to be exact. Spotify has a 500,000,000 loss last year from keeping 30% revenue. Go after the record labels contract with artists not platform. They are the one keeping billions to themselves

[@karasmusic]

I’m now worried that if this Bill passes, what will stop Spotify from going further than it currently does, and taking more songs and artists down from all platforms via threats to the distributors, with no appeal process and no evidence for take down given, in order to keep any revenue owed to the artists. As an artist I’m really worried…much easier to target smaller artists for this first. I am worried about the ripple effect in this way. I’m looking at alternatives, building my fan base, my site, investigating and doing other fronts re Dolby Atmos and every day finding other ways for my strategy and business plan going forward. Worked too hard for so long and I want to keep creating music.

[@callembini]

Great words all around 🔆

[@carlosgil4196]

You need to have a sit down interview with this Congress woman

[@ryancadwell1910]

That’s part of the reason that I switched to Apple Music from Spotify because they’ve already been paying artists 1 cent per stream. Plus, lossless audio just sounds so much better and Dolby Atmos gives you a 3D listening experience with headphones. Why can’t Spotify have that? They’ve been around longer and they were the first major streaming service that was big after Napster.

[@d.alexander4229]

If Spotify can give Joe Rogan $250 Million for 0 streams just knowing that he generates a good amount of streams they can give us at least a dollar a stream.

[@yota8325]

But it isn't 0 streams is it. It's atleast millions maybe even billions of streams constantly bringing people to the platform

[@d.alexander4229]

@@yota8325 regardless it still isn't fair

[@dprice2800]

love the bit on the songwriters in the video; there is a big shift coming, especially now that the "songwriters" have tools to bypass the traditional labels or even artists in some way.

[@LesterWayneDobos]

For all the long hours day in and out we put in everyday sweat and tears trying to make a living, and making great music for our fans we better get our damn money. Most of us been doing this over 20 years and still dont have shit. Greedy fucks need to share and come up off that. Before we start burning shit down. Great topic bro I would have made $740 last three months if it were a penny per stream. Enough for a little food here n there show us some god damn worth already.

[@chrxz.e]

One penny per stream doesn’t sound too bad compared to what they’re dealing with at the moment. If the artist is able to get 800.000 streams monthly* it would be the equivalent of 80.000 dollars. On a yearly basis it would be 960.000 dollars. Mind you, it’s only for Spotify so it’s not bad at all.

[@TrevorLeeMusic]

The bill was introduced in 2022 and they are just now getting into it. The real money will be made by Sound Exchange and the “special board” that will over see the execution of this bill. They should be paying us out of what is already being made, not use tax payer money to subsidize profit that doesn’t already exist. We need our piece, not create a new piece.

[@kingof410]

This a big picture play and I can appreciate it. Even of it fails before it flies, I know it makes big labels and streaming services shake in their boots a little with it being publicized

[@thevelvetyear]

i don't think people understand that if this goes through, it effectively kills all streaming services instantly. You're not gonna have a switch flip where now suddenly your Spotify streams are gonna give you more revenue. every streaming platform is just gonna close up shop because at that point there's ZERO way for them to be a profitable company (even with the low payouts spotify still isn't profitable as is). this wouldn't be putting a new king on the throne. This would be completely dismantling the kingdom to the point where we're gonna have to leave and find a new place to live. i get that people are excited for change, but if it goes through be prepared to get uncomfortable real quick.

[@tylermarks1769]

Law is a good start, but artist being more business literate and put money into platforms that care and have a better payout

[@GriffinPoole]

what platform really cares about artists??? u can't be serious, artists have to go for self & create their own platforms... that's the whole point, where u been???

[@firejaws777]

It seems this would lead to distribution services gate keeping artists uploads or charging more per upload.

[@saintkevinofficial]

A penny 😭😂 i mean, it's a step in the right direction

[@plugmeradio]

Stop it I'm cracking up 😂😂🤣

[@Synsere_Lyfe]

Cool news from Congress but I'd rather be direct to consumer.

[@instanturbannews]

As of March 20, 2024, Spotify Technology has a market cap of $50.13 billion, which is an 110.18% increase from the previous year. This makes Spotify the 379th most valuable company in the world by market cap. Market cap, or market capitalization, is the total market value of a company's outstanding shares, which is often used to measure a company's worth.

[@kendallmurphy8357]

Should be $10 a stream they owe us too much it’s all a scam 🤦🏾‍♂️☠️

[@The69DJ]

I'm a musician and my brother played semi pro football. He retired at 25. He made more money than I ever will.

[@plugmeradio]

Shut the front door lol a penny most places don't want to accept pennies. Her delivery was harder than that penny why go that hard for a penny go all out sis 😂😂😂

[@LexBeatz]

Thankyou Curtiss for this video

[@BG4life13]

the more I hear Daniel Ek talk, the happier I am I switched to apple music...

[@djkt1024]

I would sell direct to consumer but how do you do that if nobody has heard your music people wont buy if its not on streaming and your not known

[@AaronBaldes]

Love that opening line, brotha! Amazing news and awesome take as always.

[@junadtme]

Comparing it directly to sports and Football in particular as he mentioned, I feel like that Spotify number instead of even the top 50,000th should be the 100,000th ranked artist’s earnings to reflect in comparison with the lowest pay of the professional football player. The current numbers already have the arguments collapse on themselves but to paint the picture even further.

[@TwdlD]

+ This is not even important to the rest of her colleagues, most aren't even there. This makes me think it is for optics only. Don't be impressed with the rosy glasses they are handing out.

[@iamhunterreece]

As an artist considering DTC, what is the platform that you can use to supply music to listeners? In a world beyond file ownership, how does a fan easily and conveniently listen to a DTC artist? Thank you, cheers!

[@stestetsonmusic]

A product is a product and we should be choosing the price of that art!

[@GriffinPoole]

the DSPs don't have to raise their subscription prices at all, they just have to pay the artists a bigger cut... and the government damn-sure doesn't have to put a cap on how much money or streams that the artists generate either, how would that work anyway? do we NOT make our music available after we reach whatever number they come up with as to avoid goin over the cap they set? and what happens if we exceed that number? do they hold that money? do they take it for themselves? do they not pay us for the extra streams? what's the penalty? and why even have a cap at all? the cap only raises more questions & confuses things even more, SMH... and why only a penny per stream? why not a nickel? or a dime? or a quarter? why not give the artist letz say $25,000 for every 1 million streams instead of only $10,000? not for nothin, but tidal already pays their artists 1 cent (or close to it) per stream so ur not really doin us any favors... i'm glad these ppl are steppin up, but this ain't it... itz better, but itz still not good enough...

[@BizzyBuzz]

Lol selling the equipment is the biggest part of the music business 🤣

[@TJ-bx5px]

😂

[@joeylightfingaz1]

Facts

[@shamarwyatt]

Good morning brother iike this clip and I am going to talk about it on my radio show I'm going to shout you out as well 💪🏾💪🏾💪🏾

[@metalxmetalxmetalxmetalx]

Spotify runs more algorithmically. Compared to other platforms that’s why the monthly listeners thing is in ur face.

[@SayntMisfit702]

Should be a fucking dollar not a goddam penny are you kidding me

[@TheRealest127]

Could you just imagine if we (the artists) earned $1 a stream?? I don’t even know HOW that’s not what it is at this point. $1 a stream is MORE than fair and Spotify would STILL make a gang of money.

[@Treyco]

Let’s fucking Go!!!

[@drakedutch24]

I can not believe that these ppl don’t atleast want to give up one dollar😂😂😂

[@jsun7972]

What’s kinda sad is I used to pirate albums I didn’t want to risk buying in case it sucked. And only purchase albums from artists I wanted to support. But then I got added to my family streaming plan for free and I don’t buy shit. But now I feel guilty knowing how much they make from it… and now I’m conditioned to not want to buy any music - only stream. 😮 how to do we reverse this trend??

[@GriffinPoole]

stop goin along with the trend, start buyin music u like... itz not rocket science

[@Mr.harden]

There in a moment, paprika stores are going to pop back up block parties are going to start back and start to begin because no one is going down that rabbit hole of streaming to be broke

[@buddywedlake]

if I have to pay a dollar to play a song on a jukebox, I should be getting way more than .003 cents per stream. paying for Spotify for one month is less than a price of a cd, and I used to buy 5-10 cds a month, so I wouldn't mind if they raised the prices on music streaming services to compensate the artists

[@Jellybean0009]

Umi Long was on the collab with Jimin from BTS and she was fantastic. 💜

[@content_fan]

Props to this movement 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@ISureDont]

If we stop uploading it still wouldn’t do anything. The major three labels already own all the music people want to hear. Stop signing away your music to a huge conglomerate. Give music back to the families of artists.

[@TeleporterM11]

She has a good heart but its too little too late. A lot of Artists have quit or died from the effects of Streaming. It’s like a government administered bad bad street drug meant to kill.

[@BarkingForBroccoliBG]

Should be a dime per on demand stream like an old jukebox. People can then decide to stream or buy cds

[@Mr.harden]

Young people and your age people and middle-age people it’s time to get back to the early 80s and 90s way of selling music I’m telling you CDs finals downloads and cassette hit the streets interact with people

[@KingEvL0n3]

Yes Let's Go!!

[@violafrazier8925]

Thanks Ye💯

[@DaemunRaps]

Hey Curtis. I'm interested in releasing my music d2c but I was wondering if there's a way to encode the song so that it will play on iTunes without being released on the platform, and how much that codex might run me.

[@FRANKRICECOLD209]

100,000 pennies is equivalent to 1,000 dollars still not that much Go Luck Getting 100,000 Streams

[@thekhiddkinetic]

Get ready for those distribution costs to double.

[@MacDeathMusic]

And Spotify monthly costs

[@kcrawley5880]

Streams should be more than a cent, but I would also suggest streams be watched and put on a chart like stocks or crypto.. which shows live streams of listeners etc so there's no shady biz going on

[@SteveAdamsChannel]

This was excellent!

[@leepluck3776]

We need to get creative with the direct to consumer model, somebody get with investors create a platform competitive with Spotify you can buy the stream for 6 dollars or pay a dollar a stream,or something to that effect

[@UnseenAsyluM209]

If it was 10 cents a stream we be talking

[@iamcrisis187]

1 f***ing penny? LMFAO... I want to know how much a stream is worth to Spotify, Apple, Tidal, etc... What is a stream worth in total. Why can't anybody answer that? Once that is revealed, we need at least HALF of that. Where do these people get a penny from? smfh

[@samuelramsey5995]

They don’t even make a penny from ads😂. Digital ads cost $3-$10 per 1000 people. Besides Spotify just passed 600 millions monthly users. If each listener to 20 songs a day each month. That’s 600 songs. 360 billion streams. Spotify doesn’t make 1.5 billion a month. If they did, it’s 0.004 per stream

[@d.alexander4229]

That's still a rape... We artist shouldn't got that low ass penny while the stream company gets 99%+ more... Absolutely still not fair... They don't exist without content so why can't we get at least 10 cents per play... They get waaay too much period.

[@Clarity-808]

We need to make it expensive enough for Spotify to where they can’t afford a free tier. We can’t give out music for free and expect to make a living. I repeat, NO FREE TIER!

[@drakejr8252]

Dr. Evil is wild 😂😂

[@Sketchnificent]

🗣️OPEN YOUR PURSE SPOTIFY!!

[@DaronJonestv]

You get what you negotiate and your only negotiating tool is your willingness to walk away. 🤷🏾‍♂️

[@SHADOWBANNED1984]

Should be a dime a stream but a penny is a start

[@Sketchnificent]

It should be a $2.00 , but then someone would say they would raise the streaming subscription service but they already doing it.

[@justcrazyfootball]

See now this is progressive politics.

[@Cakebattered]

Opposing politicians will simply give the WNBA defense. If Spotify fails to make a profit, then increasing the musicians cut of 0 is still 0. I don't agree with this argument, but it will be made.

[@metalxmetalxmetalxmetalx]

Bruh dnt Spotify also make money from discovery mode what the fk

[@Djsatile]

Yesss give me my penny 😂😂😂

[@highclassplayersclub]

I’m good with a penny a stream for now but it should be a dollar. 1,000 streams = $10 sounds better than the current rate but 1,000 streams = $1,000 would be nice 😂

[@iAmL3J3ND]

I was waiting to hear your thoughts on this one! 🔥

[@NateNATE2015]

That clap with the pennies lol

[@lillowebeatscollectionllc3415]

Right in time

[@BarkingForBroccoliBG]

If you sell a CD you don't need the buyer to listen even once let alone 800,000 times per month

[@waynebo248]

Another question: will that tax fund be subjected to that 1000-stream minimum? Or will I get my pennies from my 200 streams?