Acclaimed rapper Snoop Dogg recently appeared on the “Business Untitled” podcast to speak on his decades long multifaceted career, and his comments on streaming services are catching attention. The rapper opened about receiving less than $45,000 for 1 billion streams on Spotify. The rate of pay per streams for artists has long been up for discussion, and a legacy artist like Snoop entering the conversation has taken it to new heights.
@businessuntitled Snoop dog exposes how much he was paid for getting one billion streams on spotify #snoopdogg #businessuntitled #foryou #music #spotify #business
Countless artists place in the billions in streaming numbers on Spotify and Apple Music, including Taylor Swift and Beyoncé, who raked in some of the biggest streaming numbers of the year. The lower pay rate attached to streams has widely driven the resurgence of physical copies of music, from the rise of vinyl record sales for contemporary artists to the return of CD players. Notably, a number of artists, including Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, release collector’s editions and multiple varieties of physical copies of their albums, further drumming up sales from music fans.
Artists don’t make money off of Spotify. Everyone knows this. If you love someone, buy their music, go to their shows, buy their merch. Periodt 😤
— Theherbfarmer (@theherbfarmer) December 8, 2023
How Musicians Continue To Earn Income
Regardless of musicians’ other avenues of earning a living, many continue to criticize Spotify’s artist payment system. Contrary to popular belief, artists are not payed on a pay-per-stream system, but through recording and publishing royalties. Spotify‘s policy indicates that the payments are calculated based on “the money owed to rightsholders for recordings streamed on Spotify, which is paid to artists through the licensor that delivered the music, typically their record label or distributor,” and “the money owed to songwriter(s) or owner(s) of a composition. These payments are issued to publishers, collecting societies, and mechanical agencies based on the territory of usage.”
Artists don’t make money off of Spotify. Everyone knows this. If you love someone, buy their music, go to their shows, buy their merch. Periodt 😤
— Theherbfarmer (@theherbfarmer) December 8, 2023
To supplement the payment from streaming platforms, larger artists receive a sizable cut of ticket sales for live shows. This is complicated by the ongoing controversy surrounding Ticketmaster‘s exorbitant processing fees, which have had a profoundly negative effect on independent artists who sell tickets on the platform. This phenomenon was confirmed by Clyde Lawrence of New York City-based band Lawrence at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s potential monopoly over the ticketing industry, which could violate anti-trust laws.
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Ticketmaster’s criticism came to a head amid a botched sale for Swift’s record breaking “The Eras Tour.” A number of “verified fans” under the ticketing company’s dynamic pricing system were promised presale codes via text that they never received, and an abundance of interest in tickets in the presale led to a general admissions sale being cancelled.
The situation led to a Senate inquiry into the ticketing giant, which continues to attract criticism for its pricing systems from artists and fans alike. Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Noah Kahan recently graduated to playing larger venues as his career continues to grow, and was disappointed to see the pricing of his tickets for his nearest tour dates.
@granolelle this felt violently humbling to fail at getting tickets (i have never failed at getting tickets before) #greenscreen #noahkahan #concerts #concertgirly #livemusic #summer #stickseason #stickseasontour #wellallbehereforever
Spotify is yet to comment on Snoop Dogg’s claims about revenue per stream at this time.
