Taylor Swift called "entitled" by former Spotify Exec

[Teletubby 148,115]

24 minutes ago, artdoll said:

someone correct me if I'm wrong but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that other music streaming services, I believe Apple Music pay artists 1 penny per stream whereas Spotify pays them like 0.85 or 0.80 a penny or something like that?

there is no info how much Spotify is paying per stream and it doesn't pay artists, it pays record labels/distributors so how much artists get depends on agreements with their record label.

[flyaway 15,350]

Rather than call her 'entitled', I would call her 'self-absorbed'.

But in this case she was fighting for something fair for less known artists.

[SharkmanthaC 113,623]

Well he's a former exec so I guess his opinion doesn't matter that much?

I agree with all of you saying that artists should get their fair share. 

[Lilbit 1,596]

Taylor does come off as entitled and bratty imo, but it’s pretty funny hearing a Spotify executive say it.

[StrawberryBlond 14,791]

I can tell you this right now - the only artists making a big deal about these issues are the super successful ones who don't need streaming to survive. That's the ironic part about it all. The small names are just grateful for any exposure and money they can get. 0000.1 cents is better than 0 cents, which is precisely what they would've got had streaming not existed and the only options that existed were paying full price or full-on piracy. When you have no money, you're humble, when you come into money, you start getting huffy if you feel you're getting done out of 10 pence, as my dad once said. Any big name who's spoken out about this is out for themselves, it's all about their fortunes, their income, their future earnings. Of course they realise that a rule change would benefit all artists and if anything, a lot of them being the narcissists they are, love how this would make them look like such a hero. Don't fall for it. Music is a competitive industry and a lot of people are in it for the money fully or partly. As long as they're making money, any other artist making money is just a bonus, not a requirement. If you think artists need to be paid more, fair enough, but don't give unwarranted praise to these multi-millionaire icons for having the supposed guts to speak up. They have nothing to lose and all to gain.

[SEANGT 5,227]

Taylor Swift is worth upwards of $400 million so yeah she's absolutely entitled and I DOUBT she's out here fighting for the little guy legitimately. This streaming deal benefitted her. She got to get a PR win out of it too. Woohoo. 

[Lilmonzter 2,864]

6 hours ago, Bio said:

Privilege is 100% a valid argument in a lot of discussions. Merit and privilege go hand in hand most of the time. But in this case… I just see a bitter man who understood nothing about that whole situation.

Agree wholeheartedly! 

[Luna Lovegood 24,372]

she’s not the only one demanding this though so why are u guys attacking her? Plus she not wrong 😭

[cherrycherrybooboo 285]

that moment when you finally get a hundred people to stream your song and you can finally afford the dipping sauce at mcdonalds

[Jill 30,052]

2 hours ago, StrawberryBlond said:

the only artists making a big deal about these issues are the super successful ones who don't need streaming to survive. That's the ironic part about it all. The small names are just grateful for any exposure and money they can get. 0000.1 cents is better than 0 cents, which is precisely what they would've got had streaming not existed and the only options that existed were paying full price or full-on piracy.

This is like giving a dollar to a homeless man and expecting him to say "thanks" to you because "$1 is better than nothing". Artists deserve fair compensation. It doesn't matter if they want it or not; it doesn't matter if the alternative is worse. They're workers like the rest of us, and as such, they deserve to have a living (or better yet, thriving) wage. I'm tired of people belittling artists and their contribution to society.

[Guest]

Just now, Jill said:

I'm tired of people belittling artists and their contribution to society.

I agree with everything you posted. The simile alone for the homeless man resonates very well.

I'm in a creative field and it's such a strange double standard. Offers to be paid with "exposure", being mentioned on social media, etc. were super common for me to deal with when I was freelancing.

The sad thing is, in the case for creatives getting paid, these are why copyright laws exist. So creatives are paid appropriately when their work is used. And yet these record labels are to blame as well for giving away the licensing to provide streaming to these platforms for such a small percentage.

[Jill 30,052]

4 minutes ago, Agunimon said:

The sad thing is, in the case for creatives getting paid, these are why copyright laws exist. So creatives are paid appropriately when their work is used. And yet these record labels are to blame as well for giving away the licensing to provide streaming to these platforms for such a small percentage.

This happens because the work of the artist is not seen as "tangible" (for lack of a better word) or, in the worst cases, necessary. Copyright laws protect the work from being misused, but it doesn't protect it from being undervalued. And given the state of many artists around the world, many works are prone to be undervalued given the need the artists have to survive. But this shouldn't be the case, and we shouldn't celebrate this by saying "well, it's better than nothing. Now stop complainining". It's really heartless and it shows total ignorance towards the importance of these people. Plus, would we say that to the worker of a factory, for example? I have a hard time believing we would.

[Summerboi14 807]

It's spotifys fault. They made all songs available for free (with ads) while others aren't free at all.

Streaming is the death of the music industry. It only causes problems.

[RichAssPiss 4,901]

Spotify is gross. I wish there was a way not to use it. I even tried buying CDs again, to unplug. But it's just so hard not to have a streaming app service to hear things immediately. Artists deserve better.

[SlipAway 880]

9 hours ago, BUtterfield 8 said:

Pretty sure she did that for indie artists 

Pfff