Spotify has made it easier than ever before to listen to and discover new music. Then why do so many musicians hate it?

Let’s start with some numbers. Spotify pays 0.3¢-0.5¢ per stream on average. 30% of that goes to Spotify itself, while the remaining 70% is split between all other rights holders (the artist, label, additional songwriters or producers, etc). Of course, a typical major label deal has the label keeping 70% of revenue, leaving about 1/10th of a penny to split between the artist, manager, and all other contributors to the song.

Ok so the pay’s not great, but it’s easier for artists to get discovered, right? You don’t have corporate gatekeepers determining what people hear? Well…

Spotify’s algorithm is powerful. As of February 2024, algorithmic playlists accounted for 21% of all streams and climbing. These playlists reward songs that are easily categorized and paired with other music. So instead of an executive saying that the music needs to sound more commercial, the platform does it for them.

Just like with social media, algorithms reward homogeneity and suppress innovation. But like social media, all you need to do is learn to play the game, right? If you can make algorithm-friendly music, you’ll find an audience. Bad news…

Over the past year, Spotify’s algorithmic playlists have become flooded with AI-generated music. Much of it is obviously AI and pretty low quality. So why is this happening? Many of these AI “artists” are allegedly owned by Spotify itself.

As far back as 2017, Spotify has created “Perfect Fit Content” (PFC)—music attributed to fake artists reportedly owned by Spotify. This music is added to algorithmic and editorial playlists, allowing Spotify to keep 100% of the revenue from those streams. Previously, this music was written by a small handful of stock music creators. Now, even they have been replaced with AI.

So this is where we are headed: AI-generated music owned by a multinational corporation fed to listeners via that corporation’s algorithm. Not a single human artist will be involved in (or paid from) this process. Where do we go from here?

Back to the underground. Music fans: go to local shows, buy merch from your favorite artists, purchase their music on Bandcamp or physical copies. Musicians: connect with your fans on a human level, build conversations and community, share opportunities, help your peers. Creative community is the key to survival.

Image Credits

Black Cat by Chil Vera from Pixabay

Who Was Created by NVD from Pixabay

AI Generated by Jack Drafahl from Pixabay (yes, we see the irony here)