Alright, I admit it: I’m flabbergasted. Speechless. Gobsmacked.
What has me in such a tizzy, you ask? Alright, I’ll tell you.
First off, let me say that I got the annual communique from the Chief along with everybody else. But I didn’t notice the bombshell hidden within. The full-bore story from Variety is here. In it, Sir Lucian Grainge, CEO of UMG (pictured above on right) says “We need a new model for the streaming economy.”
Already I see the furrows forming on your brow. “I didn’t even know what the OLD model of the streaming economy was, let alone what should replace it,” I hear you saying. Well brother that makes two of us. Here is what the Variety writer describes as the crux of the issue:
He is addressing in no uncertain terms the model by which creators are paid in streaming, whereby a service places all of the music streams into one big pile and pays creators based on their percentage of that pile. Which is why streaming pays millions to top creators like Taylor Swift and Drake and much less to non-superstars. It is also a major reason why songwriters are getting the short end of the stick in the streaming economy: Publishers are paid on average 25% of streaming revenue while recorded music receives 75%. And considering the large number of songwriters credited on hit songs these days, that’s a very small slice of the pie for the people who actually create the songs.
Still mystified? Well, #MeToo, Bubba.
Sir Lucian goes on to explain:
Let me explain. In order to entice consumers to subscribe, platforms naturally exploit the music of those artists who have large and passionate fan bases. But then, once those fans have subscribed, consumers are often guided by algorithms to generic music that lacks a meaningful artistic context, is less expensive for the platform to license or, in some cases, has been commissioned directly by the platform. For example, just witness the thousands and thousands of 31-second track uploads of sound files whose sole purpose is to game the system and divert royalties.
The result? A less fulfilling experience for the consumer, diminished compensation flowing to artists that are driving the business models of the platforms, and fewer cultural moments that fans can collectively share. All of that undermines the creativity and development of artists and their music that the platforms were, in part, designed to foster.
And here you thought global warming, the demise of cryptocurrency, and all those classified documents hiding in Biden’s garage were the only things you had to worry about? Au contraire, mon frere. Gobsmacked? You better be.
So, lowly songwriters take heart. And take THAT, Drake. Also, en guarde, Taylor Swift. There’s a new sheriff in town and his name’s Sir Lucian. <If anybody can figure out what the hell he’s talking about, that is. Can you? If so, I’m dying to hear about it. Leave us a comment. Please, I’m begging you here.>
Signed,
still.clueless.after.all.these.years.d