Spotify, now into its second decade, has seen criticism grow alongside usage. Each year, its campaign Wrapped rounds up statistics for each of the 191 million people who use the music streaming service – including lists of their most-played artists, their favourite genres and the number of minutes they spent listening. Within hours of the Wrapped launch last month, a meme began circulating, using an approximation of Spotify’s distinctive sans serif font to spell out “suckers”, along with an estimated stat of its own: “Plays needed to earn minimum wage: 1,117,021.” The accusation is that Spotify is leaving musicians out of pocket.
The Swedish firm was listed on the New York stock exchange in April. The company still loses money but cut its operating loss to just €6m – down from a €73m loss for the same period the previous year. As it heads towards profitability, the pressure increases to pay more to the musicians who underpin its business. Complicated as they are by distribution deals, Spotify won’t reveal per-stream royalty rates. Artists have calculated these at around half a penny. “Listeners would want us to be able to pay our bills and achieve basic dreams like starting families,” argued US indie musician Amber Coffman, sharing that “suckers” graphic.
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