Ha Concerts is examining its own position on the use of streaming platforms. Where possible, we have decided to use alternatives to Spotify. This is a process that is certainly not yet complete. Let's raise awareness and put action first.
An article by audio specialist Andre Klaver
Every day, we stream through endless playlists, podcasts, and algorithms that seem to know exactly what we want to hear. Music has never been so accessible. But behind this seemingly carefree luxury lies an uncomfortable truth.
The platforms we rely on—with Spotify at the forefront—are built on a revenue model in which the listener is the product and creators can barely survive. While the industry continues to grow by billions, artists receive only fractions of a cent per stream. Can it be done differently? And what alternatives exist?
We used to buy music, and it was a physical reality that was easy to understand: LPs, CDs, or, if you couldn't afford them, cassette tapes onto which you copied your borrowed records or CDs.
It was very tangible, and it was an expensive business, unless you only listened to the radio.
At the beginning of this century, we all started downloading. It was free! The record industry responded to this and tried everything they could to combat piracy, and from that battle, streaming for a pittance ultimately emerged as a “workable” revenue model. Streaming has become the norm, and Spotify is the gatekeeper. To get straight to the point: Spotify was never originally intended to be a music platform.
The idea was to offer advertising. They needed a vehicle to transport that advertising, and that vehicle became music. And that is still noticeable today.
When conscience speaks
Spotify is a monopolist, both among consumers and in the music industry itself. No matter how small or large. Take the channels that musicians, venues, and festivals use to get your attention to buy a ticket.
It starts on social media, and the “flyer” itself is almost without exception that of a Spotify playlist.
Why do we so passively accept this revenue model, and what does it actually deliver for the hard-working musician and you as a listener? If you read on, you'll find out: on average, an artist receives 0.003 cents per stream played on Spotify. And that's an average, because small bands often get nothing.
Musicians who statistically end up at the bottom will tell you that they don't earn anything. Or as Los Campesinos! cynically remarked in an interview with Liz Pelly: “From our streaming income we could afford one band member to not work.” This stands in stark contrast to the global financial growth in the music industry, which grew from $20 billion in 2000 to nearly $30 billion in 2024.
And it doesn't stop there. Take the “Perfect Fit” content or the curated playlists that Spotify offers, ideal for mindlessly playing during your workday.
These lists are increasingly filled with artists who don't exist: they're AI-generated. And this fits perfectly into Spotify's revenue model. It means they have to pay less in royalties.
The same applies to podcasts you listen to on such platforms: it's all streaming time for which the provider doesn't have to pay anything to labels and musicians.
With that algorithm-driven offering, the question is who will challenge us to listen outside our comfort zone and discover new music.
Andre Klaver
With a net worth of $10 billion, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek decided to invest $600 million in a company specializing in AI on the battlefield. Now, it's not our place to determine where individuals invest their money, but why not invest in the arts, if that's what you claim to stand for?
Your choice matters
The choice between big tech or small(er) tech. Perhaps you have already left Facebook because you value your privacy. Or maybe you have told LinkedIn and Google that they are not allowed to train their AI models on your data. On the internet, if something is free or cheap, you are often the product. In the streaming market, that's actually how it works. The artist gets crushed in this world.
You have a choice, and switching is often easier than you think. There are services that can migrate your music to your new service. Soundiiz is one example.
What about podcasts? There are alternatives for those too: privacy-conscious alternatives where you control what you listen to, without interference from algorithms.
On the internet, it is often the case that if something is free or cheap, you are the product. In the streaming market, this is actually how it works. The artist is crushed in this world.
Andre Klaver
Take a look at what streaming services pay artists on average. In 2024, the distribution was approximately as follows:
- Spotify: $0,003 tot $0,005 per stream
- Apple Music: $0,007 tot $0,01 per stream.
- Amazon Music: $0,004 en $0,005 per stream
- Tidal: $0,012 tot $0,015 per stream
- YouTube Music: $0,0008 per stream.
- Deezer: $0,0064 per stream
- Qobuz: $0,019 per stream. Here you can also buy and download DRM-free content.: “These two consumption methods complement each other, with download revenue adding to streaming earnings, further supporting creators” aldus Qobuz.
If we charge €2.50 to make a CD and you pay €15 for the disc, that leaves €12.50. Divide that by approximately €0.003 (actually dollars) per stream, and you end up with more than four thousand streams to compensate for one CD.
In the 1970s, record manufacturers assumed that you would play a record no more than fifty times. So be sure to go to a concert and take a record with you. Or visit your local record store. You'll be doing yourself, the artist, and everyone you meet there a big favor.
Move a stone
Music streaming has become an integral part of our daily lives, and a life without streaming is unrealistic. Even with the best-paying platforms, it is still not a viable revenue model.
The choice for a fairer platform, or a platform that suits you better, is there, and doesn't take much effort.
Andre Klaver
It may not be entirely without friction. It will be a little more challenging for you, but creators will benefit from it. So why stick with platforms that don't serve music, but mainly function as artificial intelligence-driven advertising machines in which you are the product?
Your choices matter and have an impact.
Links
- Watch the short documentary ‘Why Spotify’s CEO Is Worth Billions While Musicians Make Pennies’ by Liz Pelly in which she talks to artists. Earlier this year, her book ‘Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist’. was published.
- Information about subscription types for the following platforms : Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, YouTube Music, Deezer, Qobuz.
- Soundiiz is an online service that allows you to transfer or synchronize your music library, playlists, favorite songs, albums, and artists between different music streaming services.
- Sources of streaming revenue: Streams comparison tool on digimuziek, Press release Qobuz, Musicdemo, Overview of the International Standard Recording Code (ISRC)
- Legaal Downloaden: Je zou het niet denken maar de bestaat nog steeds. Ook hier kun je drm-vrij muziek kopen en downloaden maar staat los van Apple Music. En een van de beste opties om online muziek te kopen, voor jou en de muzikant, is al sinds jaar en dag
- Legal downloads: You might not think so, but the iTunes Store still exists. Here, too, you can buy and download DRM-free music, but it is separate from Apple Music. And one of the best options for buying music online, for you and the musician, has long been Bandcamp.
