NEXT GENERATION LISTENING

Pandora, Apple Music, Spotify, and Soundcloud are only a few of the streaming apps available at the touch of a button. As consumers, these apps are a revolutionary idea. For the creators of popular music, the streaming ability is both beneficial and detrimental. While these apps make popular music readily available to the general population, the lack of CD, record, and digital downloads being purchased has significantly decreased. This decrease, which affects artists of all popularity levels, has had a much greater impact on the up-and-coming artists in our society. The streaming companies make it seem as if having one of these subscriptions is necessary to listen to music. Streaming music has changed the way the entire music industry is structured. Aloe Blacc’s profits on his hit single in 2012, “Wake Me Up”, is a perfect example of the cons outweigh the pros of streaming music. In today’s pop culture, streaming companies are more focused on the benefits they receive from satisfied customers than on fully compensating the producers and artists on what they worked so hard to earn.

These streaming apps have become one of the more popular ways to listen to music on the go. iTunes is now obsolete and has transitioned into Apple Music. Apple Music, being the most widely used streaming service next to Spotify, has eliminated the last place to buy digital copies of music individually. Apple, by charging a flat rate for the subscription, increased their revenue exponentially. While this flat rate is a seen as a discount for avid music downloads, the increase in price for the more complacent subscriber drove Apple’s increase of revenue. Artists have expressed complaints surrounding the decrease in royalty payouts but have noted that “the irony of the situation is that [their] music is actually being enjoyed by more people in more places and played across more platforms (largely now digital) than ever before” (Blacc). Many artists have used social media to express their complaints about the streaming sites. Taylor Swift, Aloe Blacc, Jon Hopkins, and Radiohead’s Thom Yorke are all artists who have professed their distaste for the injustice of the music industry openly. “I, for one, can no longer stand on the sidelines and watch as the vast majority of songwriters are left out in the cold, while streaming company executives build their fortunes in stock options and bonuses on the back of our hard work” (Blacc).

The controversy over streaming music is mainly because of the aspect of money. On the consumer side, the listeners are paying less for more, but the producers are doing more for less. Aloe Blacc, who collaborated with Avici to write “Wake Me Up”, had the most popular song streamed in 2013, yet the song only made $12,000 off of almost two million spins on Pandora, and Aloe only received one-third of that profit (Blacc). Before streaming, each song or album would have to be purchased individually and would generally cost more than the monthly subscription. In return, many people did not go looking for new songs due to the financial vulnerability, and if they did, the music seekers would turn to sites such as YouTube, which are free. Now, listeners are able to browse at ease while finding new artists and songs they enjoy. Releasing music on these platforms, especially Soundcloud and Spotify, has given artists a more efficient way to release their music, especially when the artist is lesser known. For the artists who don’t go on tours and don’t have a line of merchandise, the money earned from streaming is their only source of income. For the more popular artists, not getting paid for streams barely puts a dent in their salaries. Taylor Swift, one of the many artists who were unhappy with the situation, wrote an open letter to Apple describing her concerns, not for herself, but more for the artists who depend on the income. When Apple Music came out they offered a three month free trial for listeners. Due to the free trial, the artists were not getting paid during the three month period. Taylor found this to be wrong on many levels and “[found] it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company” (Swift). Eventually, Apple began to pay all the artists during the three month trial. Apple, being fiscally successful, should have had the integrity to pay the artists for their work. This is a prime example of the streaming companies taking advantage of the artists by not paying them fairly.

The epidemic of streaming music has had a domino effect. Streaming has made the sales of physical copies go down dramatically. Record stores, of all ages and popularity are failing in this progressive music industry. Rolling Stones stated, “Buying music is now going out of style nearly as fast as streaming music is rising” (Wang). Kids today would most likely not know what a CD is, let alone a record or vinyl. Album sales in 2018 have fallen 18.2% and song sales dropped 28.8% (Wang). Data taken from the same time shows “total on-demand music streams, including both audio and video, shot up 35.4%” (Wang). Listening to music will never go out of style, the way to listen has changed and will continue to change.

Whether or not the artist is at the top of the charts or making music in their basement, the music would not be here if it weren’t for them. They will continue to speak out against the streaming companies for justice, and “try to convince people that the music they love won’t exist without us, and that we, as songwriters, cannot continue to exist like this” (Blacc). The work they create is not only for themselves but for the listeners, they work to please the public and because of that they should be compensated for their work fairly.

Streaming music has helped so many artists get their music out for the public to enjoy. It has helped listeners have music whenever and wherever they want. What they have not done is help the artists receive the pay they deserve. The companies are making more money than they should, while the artist get next to nothing. The consumers may not know the severity of the situation but the artists have had enough. The streaming companies have made it easier for artists to get their music to the public, but they have put a stress on the artists who are trying to earn a living from their music. These companies have taken over the music industry in the way record labels used to control.

Work cited :

Primary source: Blacc, Aloe. “Aloe Blacc: Streaming Services Need to Pay Songwriters Fairly.” Wired, Conde Nast, 3 June 2017, www.wired.com/2014/11/aloe-blacc-pay-songwriters/

Secondary sources: Helman, Peter. “Read Taylor Swift’s Open Letter To Apple Music.” Stereogum, Stereogum, 22 June 2015, www.stereogum.com/1810310/read-taylor-swifts-open-letter-to-apple-music/news/

Secondary source: Wang, Amy X. “Album Sales Are Dying as Fast as Streaming Services Are Rising.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 3 Jan. 2019, www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/album-sales-dying-as-fast-as-streaming-services-rising-774563/.