Source: Zap2It Earlier this month, Taylor Swift pulled all of her music from the streaming service, Spotify. Many (Spotify included) were angered by her decision and took to Twitter to express their thoughts. Swift voiced her opinions in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, saying that artists should value their art and streaming services like Spotify hinder album sales. I agree with Taylor in that artists should value their art, but I disagree with her for blaming Spotify. The overarching problem is much more complex. Record labels value the bottom line, not art. Source: TheRoot.com Some independent labels aside, the majority of record labels are less concerned with nurturing artist creativity and more focused on how they can make money off of them. This is why whenever an artist gets signed, their new stuff sounds like a watered-down, radio-friendly version of their old recordings. Ms. Swift should be more angry with her label for not giving her a bigger slice of the $2 million dollar pie. But instead, she blamed a streaming service that is trying to help artists make more in royalties. Technology has changed the way our generation listens to music. Source: Statista.com Instead of placing the blame on money hungry labels, artists like to blame consumers for illegally downloading music or using streaming services. This is neither of their faults. Spotify explains, "By bringing listeners into our free, ad-supported tier, we migrate them away from piracy and less monetised platforms and allow them to generate far greater royalties than they were before." Lesser-known artists are giving away their music for free.I couldn't care less about Ms. Swift getting her hefty paycheck because the majority of bands nowadays distribute their music for free. Not because it is less valuable, but because they know the way they listen to music has changed. Instead of getting upset about it and making their music unavailable, they hand out free CDs and downloads left and right. They understand that people hearing their music is more important than people having to pay to hear their music. "But Rachael, it's the principle of the matter!" Exactly what principle is that? Greed? Big name artists already make a shit ton of money in album/ticket sales, who cares if they aren't making millions in online streaming? Revenue from touring has replaced record sales. Source: Statista.com This is precisely the reason why I do not feel bad for artists like Taylor Swift when it comes to royalties. Forbes reported that her 1989 tour is expected to generate over $200 million dollars in ticket sales. Her average ticket price on the secondary market for her Red tour was $170. Artists have no right to bitch about people not buying their music when they are making up the cost anyway by charging an outrageous amount for tickets. Now, after all of this, do you still feel bad for Taylor? TL;DR: Artists should value their music but also realize that their musics' value isn't only monetary.
7 Comments
11/25/2014 10:21:48 pm
Why do you think Taylor Swift waited so long to have her growing up tantrum other child stars have? She acted like she was going to make it through on the classy route, but she proved us wrong.
Alex Barbry
11/26/2014 04:06:59 am
You'd think that by valuing her art she would want more people to have access to her "art," rather than having her reach hindered in the name of boosting album sales. Furthermore, I think you've touched on something a lot of people seem to forget... merchandise and concerts are a HUGE market today, much more so than, say, 30 years ago when our parents went to every concert that came by because they were so affordable.
Alex Warren
11/27/2014 11:10:30 am
I think you might enjoy this article http://noisey.vice.com/blog/billy-bragg-calls-bullshit-on-taylor-swifts-spotify-boycott
Taylor Matthews
11/29/2014 01:20:13 pm
This post couldn't be more spot-on. Merchandise and concert tickets generate so much revenue, which I often don't take into consideration. I agree that Taylor's frustration shouldn't have been specified towards Spotify either because they aren't the only streaming service responsible for hindering her album sales. Taylor continues to rise on the charts now more than ever...will her success ever outweigh her profits?
Kyle Groetzinger
12/1/2014 12:10:24 pm
I feel very torn about Spotify. I'm a Spotify addict; anytime I'm at a computer alone Spotify is on. I have discovered countless artists and really defined my music taste because of Spotify. There's something about the endlessness of Spotify...one click and you get all the albums, and you can really become engrossed in a band/ artist's entire anthology of work. I'm sympathetic to artists that are angry over Spotify's meager pay, but I'll never stop listening. If it was around when most of these artists were growing up, they'd love it too.
Spencer Foster
12/1/2014 01:26:46 pm
I think the biggest complaint I have about T-Swizzle removing her catalogue from Spotify is I can no longer jam out to her iconic hits like "You Belong With Me" and "22" in the shower. I have her CDs but I rely on Spotify for music on my phone since streaming services require less space on my phone than having to upload music to the device.
Cory Puckett
12/3/2014 12:16:59 am
I agree with Spencer. I can no longer jam out to some Taylor Swift for free anymore. I do not own any of her music but I got the urge to plug her in when I was able to do it for free. The girl already has all the money she can ever need. Why care if you aren't being compensated enough by Spotify. I am pretty sure that one of her shows would be a years salary for most of us when we get out of college. I actually know that to be a fact haha. Leave a Reply. |