Iyke Bede
Globally, the top one per cent of musicians on streaming services collectively amass a majority of streams. They are established acts. To offset this effect, streaming companies have increased focus on new enterprising acts in other countries such as Nigeria, but in this game of numbers, who is the biggest gainer?
According to RollingStone, its chart database between January 18, 2019, and July 17 of 2020, revealed that of its 1.6 million artistes, 10 per cent (160,000) snatch about 99.4 per cent of the streams, leaving the remaining 90 per cent of artistes to slug it out for the remaining 0.6 per cent streams. But this was not what the model revealed initially.
A walk back to the early 2000s. Upon its advent, music streaming’s biggest feature was its democratised configuration that allowed for all artistes, irrespective of status, to gain a fair shot at fame and prosperity. That happened until it didn’t. It suddenly turned into a superstar affair, with big names attracting a majority of revenue, and younger acts grovelling for scraps.
To add salt to injury, the music industry started to experience a monopoly at the hands of streaming giant Spotify. Reports published by MiDiA Research, says that in Q1 of 2021, Spotify led global streaming shares with 32 per cent while Apple Music secured second place with its 16 per cent share. In revenues, Spotify and Apple Music, for every 1,000,000 streams, pay an average rate of US$4,000 (0.4 cents per stream) and US$5,000 (0.5 cents per stream) respectively. Comparatively, Tidal pays US$12,000 for the same number of streams although it controls an insignificant size of the market. Its high rates barely trickle down the chain.
In 2020, Billboard reported that Burna Boy was atop its Top 15 Sub-Saharan African Artistes with a total of 435,570,000 streams. This means he would have earned about US$2,177,850 on Apple Music, or US$1,742,280. JoeBoy placed 15 on that list with 106,080,000 streams (US$530,400 on Apple Music). To an extent, it is safe to say these artistes in the Top 15 represent the one per cent of artistes amassing a good chunk of streams in the region. What the rest 99 per cent earned is left to the imagination. To redistribute revenue, streaming services like Spotify, YouTube, and Apple Music, have in recent times, launched programs to spotlight new enterprising acts. In 2018, Burna Boy was named YouTube’s Artiste on the Rise. In March 2020, Spotify launched the Spotify RADAR program to spotlight new acts, and more recently, Apple Music revealed Ajebo Hustlers as its Up Next Artistes. Indeed, these platforms have helped bolster the careers of the likes of Teni, Niniola.
With so much enthusiasm shown in promoting new artistes rather than increasing royalties (an issue affecting all), one is compelled to question motives. For starters, the same artiste that is launched into the mainstream ends up earning meagre pay. The initial boost at that point is only cosmetic.
Arguably, beyond all of that fanfare lies the real intention of profit generation. Between Q1 and Q2 of 2021, Spotify global monthly active users (MAU) rose from 356 million to 365 million users. An increase of 9 million. Similar increases in MAU have been marked across most platforms post-COVID lockdown.
As noted earlier, streaming companies like Tidal pay artistes better rates albeit controlling a smaller portion of the market. With fewer profit margins, less MAU, Tidal yet manages to stay afloat. So it begs the question: why can’t Spotify or Apple do the same? This same question formed the basis of the Justice at Spotify protest, where creators demanded an increase in royalty at Spotify offices on March 15.
The following month, Apple stated that it paid royalties at the rate of one cent. However, industry experts say the revenue rates fluctuate.
Earlier in March, SoundCloud adopted ‘fan-powered royalty’ to help less known musicians earn more. It prides itself on this move. The model allows for artistes to get paid when their fans either listen to their songs or songs of other musicians. That way, the artiste earns more with their fans’ constant loyalty to SoundCloud. This concept has been lauded by music experts, musicians, and fans alike. What’s left now, is for other platforms to adopt it into their model.
If streaming platforms truly want to help musicians on their platforms, the better thing would be to increase royalties. Other than these, it is a futile effort galvanising creators under the pretence of promoting them but at the same ensuring they stay dependent on the platform due to poor royalties.
In the end, tech companies profit the most from building an app that streams music. The bulk of the creative work remains the brunt of the artiste to bear.
