Jen Korte: Just a side note, as a musician we get anywhere from .03-.06 CENTS for every play on Spotify. A few thousand to make an album and little to no return on your beloved Spotify and amazon music.
Chris Kresge: Don’t hate Spotify, et.al. A single stream on Spotify is analogous to a single play on a radio station with a major exception… terrestrial radio does not have to pay an artist royalty rate.
That said — cds are not dead – just dying. Vinyl has a potentially lucrative niche market. Exploit the avenues that provide the highest ROI, but maintain all avenues regardless of any possible return.
Most “local” artists will sell a couple hundred pieces of physical product within a year of release. 200 units x $10 = $2000. Add in merch and you’ve got another revenue stream. IF that’s what you want.
MOST “local” artists will never attain enough single plays online or via terrestrial means to earn any significant money via songwriter royalties.
ALSO .. sell downloads direct from your website, or someplace like Bandcamp.
I am aware of the statistics. I teach music business entrepreneurship at UCD. 🙂
That said. There are over 40 MILLION songs in Spotify (any major digital platform). YouTube is the #1 source for music globally. It’s expected that within a decade, there will be over 400MILLION songs cataloged online. The more music there is, the less value it holds from a monetary position.
Understand that SPOTIFY etc does not SELL music .. same as Pandora or other streaming services.
Apple does not care about music or musicians. Music is a total loss leader for them.
Chris asks Jen:
a. who requires a paid membership?
b. who is uploading music to where without songwriter permission?
c. I teach people how to make money.
d. I can upload a cover to YouTube (I have) and YouTube pays the mechanical. Also, you can purchase a streaming license from HFA (I have).
Jen: my debut album was posted on Spotify by a user without my permission. I am still disputing it. I will not get paid for any of those plays. Anyone can upload anything on Spotify.
Chris: I will look into that.