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THE RECORD LABEL representing Taylor Swift has rejected Spotify’s claims that the artist was “on track” to make $6 million (€4.8 million) a year from the service.
The CEO of Big Machine, Scott Borchetta told Time magazine that the actual amount the label earned in the past twelve months was $496,044 (€397,823) for domestic streams of her music.
He also said that his label made more from streaming her music videos on Vevo, the music video site, than it did through Spotify.
The facts show that the music industry was much better off before Spotify hit these shores. Don’t forget this is for the most successful artist in music today. What about the rest of the artists out there struggling to make a career? Over the last year, what Spotify has paid is the equivalent of less than 50,000 albums sold.
A spokesperson for Spotify told TIME that the total payout for Swift’s streaming over the past 12 months globally was $2 million (€1.6 million).
Swift’s record label removed her entire music catalogue at the beginning of the month, just as her latest album 1989 was released.
Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek originally made a statement saying that a popular artist like Swift could expect to make $6 million from the streaming service as its audience continues to grow, and said he was “really frustrated” by claims that artists and songwriters make no money from streaming.
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Well we can all sleep peacefully now that that’s sorted.
Not the best comparison really considering he retorted with a figure for the domestic market rather than all operated markets combined.
The greed of the music companies is line one endless stream. The artists complaints are a joke. Plays on Spotify are like having your ads paid for
Streams on Spotify are a pittance and a poor source of income for musicians. More power to her if she wants to remove her music from Spotify. She clearly doesn’t need it as she’s by far the best selling artist this year.
Taylor Swift and her record company are just in it for the prestige of record breaking sales and the history books, not people who listen to the music. Nowhere is questioned what is better for the consumer (or fans as they used to be known)?
Spotify has obviously not cannibalised the album buying public, as her album has one of the highest number of record sales, which is in addition to any income from streaming and video services.. Spotify replaces the radio, not albums sales, and it gives people to opportunity to spend a small amount to listen (not own) music for a low cost. But not low enough that If all you wanted to listen to was taylor swift, then you could buy her back catalogue for less than a few months of spotify.
What the record company don’t get is that the spotify income, small as it is compared to if everyone who listened to a track bought the album instead, is a top up from people who would just download it from a torrent, or listen to it on the radio. It is never about being paid for their work, as she has the highest income per effort in the world, but instead just making sure parents pay what a record company exec told her each fan was worth.
She is probably the most popular pop artist out there at the moment and she would only make €400k/year on Spotify? Most artists must only be making pennies on it
I like her songs.
don’t know why. but her and her songs really annoy me, even more than Cheryl cole
Oooooh no, she only earned €398,000 in the last 12 months. Boo focking Hoo.
Taylor Swift and music in the same sentence . . . ? Jaysus.
Nope.
Maybe?
Depends!
On?
have your say