Spotify Is Getting Slammed for Planning to Cut Artist Royalties in Exchange for Exposure

Like 2020 hasn't been hard enough for artists.

Earlier this week, Spotify revealed a new feature for artists and labels seeking to increase exposure. 

The music streaming service announced in a statement that this "new experiment" would allow artists and labels to sacrifice some of their streaming royalties to make sure that their tunes are recommended by their algorithm. 

"In this new experiment, artists and labels can identify music that's a priority for them, and our system will add that signal to the algorithm that determines personalised listening sessions," the statement reads.

As reported by The Fader, Spotify notes that the feature won't require any immediate upfront costs, but it'll only be available in exchange for lowered royalty payments. 

If you're not too familiar with the term, 'royalties' are basically a small payment made to artists each time people use or buy their songs. 

According to Business Insider, artists are only receiving around $0.004 to $0.007 per stream, which is, uh, not great. 

Spotify is promoting the new trial program as a way for artists to reach wider audiences. Musicians will be able to determine which particular songs they want 'boosted', and the algorithm will prioritise them in Spotify radio and autoplay sessions.

The streaming app said that their aim is for the tool to be "accessible to artists at any stage of their careers". 

Okay, so why has Spotify copped so much backlash?

Good question. 

Well, these 'boosts' for artists come at a price, because they'll have to accept lower royalty rates. Plus, even if artists accept these lowered rates, Spotify "won't guarantee placement to labels or artists".

Considering musicians have been hit particularly hard by the coronavirus pandemic, it's definitely not the news anyone wants to hear right now.

This sucks. Any alternatives to Spotify that pay decent royalties? A nice model would be where my contribution is spread over the artists I listen too...

— Stijn Opheide (@stijnopheide) November 3, 2020

i am very depressed about the s*otify thing which perhaps is an overreaction but idk seems like a particularly cruel thing to announce in a year where musicians had most of their revenue streams completely cut off at the source ie. gigs

— eilish gilligan (@eilishgilligan) November 2, 2020

This isn't the first time that there has been some controversy surrounding Spotify and royalties.

Just last week, a union of musicians launched the 'Justice At Spotify' campaign, which demands that Spotify increases its royalty rate to at least 1 cent a stream, among other overhauls.

At this stage, the petition already has around 15,000 signatures including King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Amber Coffman and Thurston Moore. 

"Spotify should not be in the business of selling artists access to their own fanbase. Spotify must publicly reveal where existing payola is occurring, and then stop systems of paid access that make an already unequal platform even more imbalanced," the union wrote in an open letter. 

"As COVID-19 economically devastates music workers everywhere, it's even clearer that Spotify's existing model is counter to the needs of the vast majority of artists."

basically if you want your songs to be promoted on spotify you have to pay out of your royalties aka even less money going to artists

— Danny (@dtrebejoariza) November 3, 2020

Header Image: SOPA Images / Contributor / LightRocket via Getty Images