The Pyramid Of Inequality

Reminder that you should be subscribed to Damon Krukowski's newsletter - Dada Drummer Almanach. His latest transmission, Revisiting the Pyramid of Inequality that is Streaming Music, is an excellent reminder on the state of streaming media. I'm going to regurgitate several of the facts here but please go subscribe. The free version is very worthwhile and the paid version is even better. A few facts from the article:

• 88% of all streaming tracks on Spotify do not quality for royalties - this means despite being played, Spotify does not pay those artists
• The RIAA calculates that streaming accounts for 84% of all recorded music revenue - but streaming is only paying 12% of its tracks!
• If you are lucky enough to qualify for payments, it's a third of a penny per play. In many cases less than that if you do not own your music.

Spotify gets the majority of ire in write-ups like this because they are the biggest offenders but please remember, all streaming platforms are interested in not paying artists. There may be an exception here and there but, by and large, capitalism is not trying to support the arts! To me, if you want to continue enjoying recorded music, you should buy stuff on Ampwall, Bandcamp and the like. His piece doesn't say that explicitly but given how dire that streaming situation is, it's a sensible conclusion.

Oh, there's also the Living Wage for Musician's Act that would help to level the playing field. My faith in politics to do the right thing is at an all time low at this point but I'm in full support of the Act and hope they can make some traction!