As we all know
in recent years it has become more and more easy to access music and for a much
lower cost than what it used to be. Rolling Stone says, “Over the past
decade-plus, the old-fashioned way of making money in the music business –
selling recorded albums – has dropped off a cliff, splintered into a zillion
pieces and been run over by that methylene train from Breaking Bad.” Up until about 10 years ago the main ways
that artists made money was off of album and ticket sales. With album sales decreasing because of
streaming services like Spotify, Pandora,
and Apple Music, and a number of
different ways for users to pirate music, artists are forced to rely on other
methods of making money. These stats are
a little outdated but, from 2004 to 2009 approximately 30 billion songs were
illegally downloaded, say this was a time when songs on iTunes still cost 99
cents, that’s a loss of close to $30 billion.
With payments from streaming also being so low (between $0.0014 and
$0.0084) on Spotify and Pandora it is no wonder artists are looking for new
ways to create revenue streams or pulling their albums from streaming services
all together.
One artist in
particular that decided to pull her album from all streaming services was
Taylor Swift, one of the highest grossing artists of 2015. Swift spoke out against Apple Music for not paying artists during users 3-month free trial,
standing up for all artists that were afraid to speak up. Apple
Music now pays artists during the trial period and Swift’s albums are only
available on Apple Music or for
purchase.
One of the
biggest ways artists make money besides album sales are ticket sales. In 2015 Taylor Swift’s “1989” topped the
record for highest grossing tour in North America. Swift’s tour grossed over $250 million
worldwide from just 83 shows. With such
high figures from her tour it’s hard to believe that Taylor Swift was listed
number 4 on the list of highest paid musicians.
According to Rolling Stone some other potentially
high earning revenue streams include merchandise sales, movie and TV licensing,
fashion lines, perfumes, and YouTube.
For perfume alone an artist can earn between $3 and $5 million. In 2014 Billboard
estimated that Taylor Swift made $17 on merch per head. Assuming all 2.3 million of Swifts fans that
attended a show during the “1989” tour spent $17 on merch then Swift would have
brought in $39.1 million just from merchandise.
It’s hard for
us to understand why artists need to come up with all these other revenue
streams when it seems they are still making tons of money even with the dip in
album sales. Just looking at Taylor
Swift’s 2015 you’ll see how much is actually taken from an artist. Even though Swift’s “1989” tour grossed $250
million and we assume merchandise made close to $40 million among other things,
Swift still came out at number 4, making only $80 million in 2015. Leaving with not even half of what her tour
grossed. Only imagine what smaller
lesser known artists are making, just one of the reasons Swift fought for Apple Music to pay artists during the
trial period and another reason why artists must find so many other ways of
making money.
Works Cited:
"Music's
Top 40 Money Makers 2014: The Rich List." Billboard. N.p., 10 Mar.
2014.
Web. 27
Mar. 2016.
"Why Does
the RIAA Hate Torrent Sites so Much? - Music Business Worldwide." Music
Business
Worldwide. N.p., 06 Dec.
2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Bereznak,
Alyssa. "How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent
Artists."
How
Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists. Yahoo, 21 June 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Caulfield,
Keith. "Official: Taylor Swift's '1989' Debuts With 1.287 Million Sold In
First
Week."
Billboard. N.p., 4 Nov. 2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Kenneally,
Tim. "Katy Perry Tops One Direction, Taylor Swift on Highest-Paid
Musicians List." The Wrap. N.p., 8 Dec. 2015. Web.
27 Mar. 2016.
Knopper,
Steve. "T-Shirts and Merch - Nine Ways Musicians Actually Make Money
Today."
Rolling Stone. N.p., 28 Aug. 2012. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Lewis, Randy.
"Taylor Swift's '1989' Is 2015's Highest Grossing Concert Tour by
Far."
Los
Angeles Times. Los
Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Nath, Trevir.
"How Pandora And Spotify Pay Artists | Investopedia." Investopedia.
N.p.,
16 Dec.
2014. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Anne Noordsy
ReplyDeleteTaylor Swift is all about risks. That’s probably one of the reasons why I admire her so much because she isn’t afraid to go against the grain and be bold in her decisions. When Taylor made the decision to pull her latest album, 1989, from Apple Music as well as pull all of her music from Spotify, fans were shocked and disappointed. However, I don’t think people realize all of the blood, sweat, and tears that go in to recording and making music. Music is an art form and just like a beautiful painting, it should be of monetary value.
Taylor took to Tumblr and wrote a public letter to Apple. She said, “I’m sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service. I’m not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company” (Bereznak 1). This is another component that fans aren’t aware of. When you choose not to pay for music, the people behind the music you like aren’t being appreciated financially and this can actually lead to a decrease in the creation of that music.
Swift then said in her letter “Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing. I say this with love, reverence, and admiration for everything else Apple has done. I hope that soon I can join them in the progression towards a streaming model that seems fair to those who create this music. I think this could be the platform that gets it right” (Bereznak 1). I also agree with this statement because imagine in any other career you are without paychecks for three months. Even though Taylor has obviously made a lot of money during her career, we must realize that not receiving payment during a time period of three months is unfair and can even hurt one’s career and financial success. The streaming of music can be beneficial for both parties, the fans and the musicians, at a fair cost.
Noordsy Continued
ReplyDeleteWith that being said, there are multiple streaming services available. The services range from Pandora to Spotify and can be of convenience and simplicity. “Different streaming services offer varying levels of control to the user — from customizable radio stations to on-demand listening, in which users can pick the exact song they want to hear. Some services require listeners to be connected to cellular data or Wi-Fi, while others allow them to save songs to their devices for listening offline in places like airplanes and the subway” (Alexander 1). In fact, I utilize Pandora almost every single day. Whether it’s at my internship to listen to music while working or in my room to have music on while I’m studying, this streaming service has been a convenience for me and at the same time, I don’t feel like I’m cheating the artists I listen to.
When we pirate music from the artists we love, aren’t we in a way being the opposite of fans? Pirating music or streaming music for no cost is basically a slap in the face to musicians like Taylor Swift. Additionally, when we don’t pay for music, we are hurting the careers of our beloved musicians. The numbers say it all: Taylor’s 2015 tour rolled in over $250 million globally yet she only came out in fourth place on Forbes’ 2015 list of highest paid musicians (Kenneally 1). The numbers add to the fact that the purchasing of her music, specifically her latest album, took a hit to her career. I understand that sometimes funds are low and we also are a generation of lazy people that don’t want to pay for anything, but consider what the repercussions would be if you just went up to an artist’s painting or sculpture and tried to steal it or take it altogether.
Works Cited
1.Alexander, Madi. "Apple Music, Spotify and a Guide to Music Streaming Services." The New York Times. The New York Times, 8 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
2.Bereznak, Alyssa. "How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists." Yahoo. 21 June 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
3.Kenneally, Tim. "Katy Perry Tops One Direction, Taylor Swift on Highest-Paid Musicians List." The Wrap. 8 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
It is not surprising to me that album sales have dropped in a major way. When looking at the ways that my friends and myself listen to music, it is mostly all through streaming services. It is unfortunate that this is our reality, however, with so much new music coming out and technology on the rise, the easiest way to listen to music is through these streaming services. On top of that, for people who would normally buy multiple albums every month, it is significantly cheaper to subscribe to a service rather than buy each individual song or album.
ReplyDeleteArtists like Taylor Swift are smart in the way that they make deals with services such as Apple Music and Pandora. If less people are buying albums because of these streaming services, artists need to make money on the hard work that they put into their albums. They have a right to be paid in the amount that they deserve in order for companies to use their music at a lower price. Taylor speaks out and says, ““I’m sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service. I’m not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company” (Bereznak, 2015). More artists should stand up for what they deserve like Taylor Swift did to ensure that they are making the correct amount of money and not allowing themselves to be walked all over.
Artists are realizing this issue with illegal downloading and are coming up with ways to not just put a stop to it, but to compete with the streaming services that are currently out on the market. Jay Z launched Tidal, ““…an artist-owned’ option to the others, but his all-star launch – which featured an all-star list of hit-makers including Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Jack White, Daft Punk, Madonna, Kanye West, Madonna, Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, and others – turned off some, who thought it was absurd that millionaire artists were complaining they weren’t getting paid by the other streaming services” (Rosen, 2015). Although it is a good argument that these millionaire artists should not be concerned with how much they are getting paid, they put hard work into the music that they produce and this is their job. Music should not be about appearances, clothing lines, and other new ways to make money; it should strictly be about the music. I think if Tidal were marketed a bit better, it would spark the interest of many people and would have the recognition that it deserves.
Bereznak, Alyssa. "How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent
Artists." How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists.
Yahoo, 21 June 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Rosen, Craig. "The Year in Music News: Adele Gave the Industry Hope, Terrorists
Attacked Rock 'n' Roll." Yahoo Music. N.p., 23 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Mar.
2016.
Personally I think streaming services are a good idea for the customer. I never looked at it as being good or bad for the artist. I’m going to start off by saying that I hate change, so when Apple Music first came out I was not too pleased. My dad made my family sign up for Family Sharing so we could all have Apple Music under his account. It has now grown on me.
ReplyDeleteLooking at it now I see how artists could be making less money through streaming services for reasons like Family Sharing. I have four people in my family. If we were each paying for our own Apple Music accounts that would be $10 dollars a month, that would be $40 dollars a month total, but because we have Family Sharing we are only paying $15 dollars a month. I am sure there are other families that are using the Family Sharing. The difference between $40 dollars a month from a family of four and $15 dollars a month from a family of four is pretty significant.
In regards to Taylor Swift. I remember hearing that Taylor Swift was not making her music available on Apple Music and, without knowing the full story, I thought that she was being very selfish. My thinking was that she just wanted to make more money for herself so she is not making her music available for streaming. Knowing the full story now made me look at the situation differently. Taylor was not being completely selfish. In the article How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artist, Alyssa Bereznak says, “she went on explaining that her decision was meant to be a signal of support for young, struggling musicians” (Bereznak). Taylor Swift is a big name in the industry and because she did what she did she was able to have Apple Music changed their mind about artists not getting paid on Apple Music’s three month free trial. That is pretty impressive, in my opinion.
I believe that for an artist, like Adele, it was the right move for her to not have her music released on streaming services. Adele only comes out with an album every three or four years. She knew that she would be able to make more money if she only released that album for purchase, and let's face it who isn’t going to buy Adele’s album. Everyone wanted to be able to listen to her music and that is a good sign for the industry. “Adele’s return with her third album, 25, gave the music industry hope by shattering sales records at a time when blockbuster albums were thought to be a thing of the past” (Rosen). The amount of money Adele’s album made can also be related back to fandom, never doubt the power of a fandom.
One disadvantage about streaming services is that artists, like Kanye West, are now choosing to only have their music released on the streaming services they want. I am a huge Beyonce fan, but because her husband is Jay-Z, who owns Tidal, I have a feeling that her new music will never be on Apple Music again. Kayne has stated that his new album The Life of Pablo will not be released anywhere but on Tidal. I know there is a few songs that I want to listen to from that album but I am not going to pay a monthly fee for Tidal to listen to two artists. This could be a disadvantage for the amount of money that these specific artists make on their work.
Overall I enjoy streaming services. I believe that there is many advantages for the customers, but not as many for the artists.
Bereznak, Alyssa. "How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists." Yahoo. 21 June 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Rosen, Craig. "The Year in Music News: Adele Gave the Industry Hope, Terrorists
Attacked Rock 'n' Roll." Yahoo Music. N.p., 23 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Mar.
2016.
Music piracy is something that seemingly can’t and won’t stop anytime soon. New albums will always be leaked and people will always find ways to illegally download them. Since the days of LimeWire, people have found sights to illegally download music they would rather not pay for (seems to make sense). For a more current example, Kanye West’s new album The Life of Pablo was illegally downloaded 500,000 times within the first 24 hours of its release on Tidal and on KanyeWest.com (Rys).
ReplyDeleteThe argument about music streaming sights really has two sides based on where you find yourself on the spectrum. I myself am an avid user of Spotify, and particularly enjoy using it for my music needs. I love how I can access my favorite artists, albums and songs by paying only ten dollars a month (for premium). As a consumer of music, this is extremely convenient.
However, I do understand how this is hurting artists and the revenue they would be getting if people were buying the albums either in hard copy or online. This is why for particular albums and artists that I really like, I will go out and buy the album. I am a firm believer that artists, writers and producers should be paid for the work that they put in. That is why I completely agree with the statement that Taylor Swift made regarding Apple Music not paying artists for the three-month free trial period. As she said in her Tumblr post on the subject, “Three months is a long time to go unpaid, and it is unfair to ask anyone to work for nothing” (Bereznak). It is incredibly important for artists to stand up for other artists without as powerful of a position or voice. If only one writer or one producer had stood up and made this statement, I’m sure the message wouldn’t have reached as far. Since Taylor Swift did it, the message reached millions of people and created a positive reaction. I hope that in the future, streaming sights like Spotify will be able to pay artists more for the music that they create.
Rys, Dan. "The Future of Pablo: What's Next for Kanye West's Not-Really-Released Album?" Billboard. Billboard, 19 Feb. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Bereznak, Alyssa. "How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists." Yahoo Tech. Yahoo, 21 June 2015. Web.
I agree completely with your blog post. Artists these days have to be very creative when it comes to earnings. Artists seem to almost brand themselves more because they realize their album sales are not going to make them all their money. Things such as modeling for magazines, touring, and merchandise all factor into how artists are able to make an income in an age where people either illegally download or use streaming services.
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned, Taylor Swift fought against Apple Music because she was obviously upset she was not receiving any compensation for her hard work on her 1989 album. She was also upset that up and coming artists are severely struggling from these streaming services. For example, I listen to an underground hip-hop artist named Mike Stud and his first album was “Toast to Tommy” which grossed
$104, 895 in 2011. Since 2011 he has gained almost 200,000 more fans and his last album called “Closer” only grossed $64,000. Closer was featured on the Billboard top 100 and was deemed his most successful album so far. After 4 years you can clearly see how much these changes in how music is sold are affecting artists. Due to streaming services, Mike Stud lost a large amount of money on an album that should have earned him at least five times that amount. Taylor Swift was right in “that her decision was meant to be a signal of support for young, struggling musicians” (Bereznak).
I like how you mentioned touring as a major way artists are able to get by nowadays. Venues are always looking to fill their seats for a talented and famous artist to come in and perform. The fact that Taylor Swift brought in $250 million is amazing and although it does not make up for her loss with streamers, she still held the top spot in earnings for all of 2015 (Lewis). Also, with touring comes merchandise, which also brings in a lot of income. Merchandise can also give the artist a chance to sell their hard copies of their albums, as some die-hard fans still enjoy holding a CD in hand. As worldwide known artists like Taylor can somewhat make up for their losses, underground artists have to become very creative in their sales. One example that I have seen is that some up and coming artists sell autographed hard copies online or at their shows for a larger price, which seems to have worked very successfully. Overall the music industry is already a difficult one to break into, now more roadblocks have been put up (Spotify, Apple Music, etc.), which is only discouraging lesser known artists from continuing their careers in music.
Bereznak, Alyssa. "How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists." How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists. Yahoo, 21 June 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Lewis, Randy. "Taylor Swift's '1989' Is 2015's Highest Grossing Concert Tour by Far." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
This shift in how we receive music is not only affecting the artists, but in turn, affecting us -- the listeners. I understand that it is easier today than it ever has been to access music and that it can be unfair to artists in regards to money. I pity the upcoming artist whose album is being pirated and can’t rely on live performances to bring in the finances he or she deserves. But, although it is easier to steal music than it ever has been -- it is also easier to access music.
ReplyDeleteSites and apps like Soundcloud, HotNewHiphop, and IndieWire all provide platforms for artists to be discovered. In the past, artists had to rely more on word of mouth or even worse -- a selfish record label.
Now, what I want to get to that really bothers me is how music artists are fighting back to maximize their profit. While I understand why they are doing it, it is hurting them. For instance, Kanye West has publicly stated that his new album “would never be for sale and ‘never on Apple’ but ‘only on Tidal’” (Rys). Come on, Yeezy, that’s not fair. As a subscriber to Apple Music (and part-time die-hard Kanye fan), I had to download Tidal to listen to his album. It is the only way to listen to his new album! I’m paying $25 a month for music streaming services and I’m a poor college student -- that’s not fair. I have friends who refuse to pay for Tidal and therefore haven’t even listened to Kanye’s album. Kanye is neglecting a whole part of his fanbase to prove a point. So here I am, paying $13 dollars a month for an album that I could’ve bought for the same price if he distributed a physical copy.
Streaming has changed music forever -- along with television, film, radio and more. But, specific to music, it has put more pressure on tours. To make money, artists must sell tickets to their shows. Taylor Swift “performed 83 shows in 53 cities and sold almost 2.3 million tickets [in 2015]” (Lewis). The other highest grossing artists also performed similar numbers of shows and cities. Most of the artists making money are either current pop superstars or older rock legends. Therefore, you must be a trending superstar or a seasoned veteran to sell the most tickets. Indie bands and lesser known artists will never come close to gaining this much money. That is why they need to make a larger percentage of money on their albums which is obviously becoming increasingly difficult.
I don’t know how the music industry will solve this problem. But, I do kind of like how record labels are becoming less crucial to an artist’s success because I have heard how selfish they can be. In every industry, the traditional way is being phased out. Music is no different. We will always listen to music, it is just a matter of how we do it.
All I ask is -- please, don’t make me pay for any more streaming services.
I’m talking to you, Kanye.
PHIL LENTINI
Works Cited
Rys, Dan. "The Future of Pablo: What's Next for Kanye West's Not-Really-Released Album?" Billboard. Billboard, 19 Feb. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
Lewis, Randy. "Taylor Swift's '1989' Is 2015's Highest Grossing Concert Tour by Far."
Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Rachel LaRotonda
ReplyDeleteJust like any industry the music industry is constantly changing and adapting. In recent years you can’t help but notice how with advancing technology the industry seems to be spinning out of control. With newer services like Spotify, Pandora and Apple Music, no wonder people are ditching traditional ways of obtaining music. Every song they could possibly want is right at their fingertips, with out having to leave the house. According to the New York Times, “Ranging in price from free to $19.99 a month, different streaming services offer varying levels of control to the user – from customizable radio stations to on-demand listening, in which users can pick the exact song they want to hear. Some services require listeners to be connected to cellular data or Wi-Fi, while others allow them to save songs to their devices for listening offline in places like airplanes and the subway” (Alexander).
With what all that these services have to offer, no wonder people choose to use them over physically buying albums. Looking at all of these services I would have to admit I am an avid Spotify user, but I don’t pay for Spotify. Personally, and I’m sure there are lots of other people feel this way too, it’s all about convenience. For the most part, most albums I listen to are already on the service and when a new album comes out it’s not long that it’s there too. For examples Zayn’s new album “Mind of Mine” released last week and instead of going to the store and buying it, I listen to it on my Spotify account. There is of course a battle between people who pay for the streaming service and people like me who don’t. I’ll admit my sister pays for her account and I’m a little jealous… only a little. OK, maybe a lot. According to the New York Times, “Spotify announced in June that it had 75 million users, 20 million of whom pay, but its numbers are thought to have grown substantially since then. By August, Spotify told record distributors that it had as many as 22 million paying users, It operates in 58 countries, and recently began advertising for jobs in Japan, raising speculation that it would soon begin operating in that country, which is the world’s second-largest music market but one long resistant to streaming” (Sisario).
Like I said before, with all of these streaming services readily at hand artist’s need to change what they do and how they do it to get more money. Of course there is always ticket sales to their shows, merchandise sales, movie and TV licensing, fashion lines, perfumes, and YouTube channels. I think that in order to keep succeeding in this industry artists need to adapt to its most recent changes. Instead of going against streaming like some major artists have, they need to come up with a more creative way to make money that includes album sales and everything else.
Works Cited
Alexander, Madi “Apple Music, Spotify and a guide to Music Streaming Services” New York Times. 8 January 2016. Web
Sisario, Ben “Spotify Is Said to Be Seeking $500 Million in New Funds” New York Times. 27 January. 2016. Web
The way we get our music has changed a lot in the last decade, but in my opinion, the one thing that has stayed constant is how much artists are getting screwed over payment wise. I remember as a kid, having to go down to boarders and browsing different albums before picking out the one I wanted, and spending around $20 on it. I always assumed the artist got most of the $20, but according to bandzoogle.com, the artist only makes 6.6% of CD sales, while the record label receives 30%. Because it totally makes sense to have the record label earned more than 3x the amount the artist did…..
ReplyDeleteNowadays, streaming services are no better for musicians. As a customer, I love spotify. I get to pay $5 bucks a month and get to listen to hundreds of thousands of songs, clear as day, no commercial interruption. What else could I possibly ask for, it’s a great way to listen to my favorites, and discover new ones. But for the artist, they’re once again not making much at all. According to Investopedia, artists are paid a fraction of a cent (roughly .00014-.00084 cents) per song played. Your song would need to be played dozens of times before you even see a dollar, what kind of deal is that?
Of course, artists are just as mad about it, and its not like they haven’t tried to change it. A few years ago, rapper Jay-Z started Tidal, a music streaming service “for musicians, created by musicians”. Teaming up with a few big named musicians, Jay-Z launched Tidal in hopes that customers would pay the hefty $20 a month for a streaming service that provided music and also paid the respected artists fairly.
Unfortunately, as of right now, Tidal does not seem to be catching on. It just seems like people find it hard to sympathize with artists not making enough money, when they’re still making millions. While I agree its unfair, I think musicians would have a better chance convincing the public using smaller bands instead of big named artists as the face of the issue, otherwise it just looks greedy.
The reality is, its going to take more than Tidal to change things. If you ask me, Taylor Swift had the right idea withholding her music from streaming sites until she was paid fairly. I mean it only makes sense right? And these streaming services will never be able to stay afloat if they have no music to stream. It would be a risky move for sure, but if all the musicians on Spotify or Apple music banded together and demanded better wages, I think they may just get them.
Nath, Trevir. "How Pandora And Spotify Pay Artists | Investopedia." Investopedia. N.p
Keif. "Record Sales: Where Does the Money Go?" Record Sales: Where Does the Money Go? N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Through out my childhood, I could not wait to add another new Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears CD to my CD collection. To listen to music back then was only accessible in a few ways- the radio, when MTV would play actual music videos instead of reality shows, or our Walkman’s. I would walk around my house with the big device in my hand and the headphones placed on top of my head if my parents weren’t playing the radio through out the house. I even have memories of Christmas morning when my dad would play his Dean Martin Christmas CDs through our CD system on top of my TV. These days, I only use the radio if I’m driving to a short destination or if my phone battery is low since I use it to play my music off of through out my car. Christmas morning now the music comes from my dads iPad and his Pandora account. The CD and radio system we had in our house no longer exists. I barely even use my iTunes anymore. I’m either on Pandora, Spotify, or even YouTube since I never really want to pay $1.99 for the original copy of the song on my iTunes.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post I did feel a sense of guilt for never really purchasing a lot of my songs that I listen to. I’ve found that my music genre ranges from all different types of music that the money spent on the songs from iTunes I could use for something else, so why not use these free streaming services or YouTube videos? Although I am not able to select what exact song I want to listen to, I don’t mind listening to all different songs at a time from different artists. I also end up finding out about new songs that I may have never heard of from the radio or found on my own on iTunes, so I also use these services for that reason as well. In the article “Apple music, Spotify and a Guide to Music Streaming Services,” author Madi Alexander explains that the “different streaming services offer varying levels of control to the user- from customizable radio stations to on-demand listening, in which users can pick the exact song they want to hear. Some services require listeners to be connected to cellular data or Wi-Fi, while others allow them to save songs to their devices for listening offline in places like airplanes and the subway.” While I do love using Pandora or Spotify, I’ve found that sometimes it can be frustrating to almost wait around for an app to figure out what song you’re in the mood for, where my iTunes playlist is already full of all different songs that I can pick from on my own. Either way, I’ve found Pandora to just be a more exciting app that has given the music world a bit of change. It allows the listener to hear all different artists, very well known and new artists that are just starting out, and get a new insight on the certain type of genre of music they are interested in.
LaRosa comment continued:
ReplyDeleteYou made a point in your blog about how Taylor Swift is basically getting scammed out of making the right amount of money she should be for her music. Her fight against Apple music was for her own purpose but like you said in your blog, it’s also for the other artists who don’t have the same platform and power like Swift does. In the article “How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists”, author Alyssa Bereznak uses Swifts open letter to Apple Music with it saying ““I’m sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service. I’m not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company.” When Swift’s new album came out and I couldn’t find it anywhere, I ended up purchasing the entire album on iTunes. Adele’s new album ’25’ is also the only other full album I have ever purchased off of iTunes. I appreciate all different artists and never really think that using other streaming devices takes away from the artists that I love to listen to on an everyday base.
Alexander, Madi. "Apple Music, Spotify and a Guide to Music Streaming Services." The New York Times. The New York Times, 8 Jan. 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Bereznak, Alyssa. "How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent
Artists." How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists.
Yahoo, 21 June 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
Markella Damianos
ReplyDeleteMusic definitely needs to find a new way to make money, if they do not want to rely mainly on music sales. While they do gain an enormous amount of sales, they do not reach their true earning potential: “I’m sure you are aware that Apple Music will be offering a free 3 month trial to anyone who signs up for the service. I’m not sure you know that Apple Music will not be paying writers, producers, or artists for those three months. I find it to be shocking, disappointing, and completely unlike this historically progressive and generous company” (Bereznak). Streaming services allow users access to numerous songs, albums, and artists: “Ranging in price from free to $19.99 a month, different streaming services offer varying levels of control to the user…” (Alexander). These are causing major issues for artists.
Artists now focus on other ways to make money. The main focuses are concerts and advertisements. Taylor Swifts’ latest “1987” tour saw her receiving more revenue than past tours: “Swift’s tour, featuring a bevy of different guest stars in nearly every city she visited, grossed just over $250 million worldwide” (Lewis). Although she had the highest grossing tour, she still did not receive the amount she could have if songs were not illegally downloaded. Advertisements are also another big way for artists to receive money. Companies often use artists to promote their products and have to pay them a certain amount. There are also other ways for artists to gain a profit: clothing lines, perfumes, colognes, etc.
The questions now become how can illegally downloading be stopped so that artists can be compensated and can something new be created? After thinking about these questions, it now becomes an issue of can it happen? The first downloading service was Napster. After that was shut down, the Internet boomed with illegal downloading sites. For example, a person can copy and paste a YouTube link and then put it on a site to download the song. I feel that even if a system were created no one would follow, just as it happened with Napster. It is also is interesting that iTunes which sells music also created a streaming service. This in a way is an example of foreshadowing of the way the music business is heading. iTunes is beginning to recognize that downloading music is not the way to go.
While downloading music may be outdated, music is now being renewed. There is a surge in people buying record players and records. Similar to movies, people are going back to the old ways of viewing. Instead of new ways, maybe its time to return to the old ways.
Works Cited:
Bereznak, Alyssa. "How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists."
How Taylor Swift Convinced Apple to Pay Independent Artists. Yahoo, 21 June 2015. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
Lewis, Randy. “Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ is 2015’s Highest Grossing Concert Tour by Far.” Los Angeles Times. N.p., 30 Dec. 2015. Wev. 28 Mar. 2016.
Alexander, Madi. “Apple Music, Spotify and a Guide to Music Streaming Services.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 June 2015. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.
There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t hear Taylor Swift on the radio. Specifically on the SiriusXM radio channels that I listen to which are SiriusXM Hits 1, Venus, KIIS-Los Angeles, Z100/NY and more. She isn’t just a music artist; she is a global icon with fans from all over the world. Any artist this big in the music industry would complain if they weren’t being paid for the work that they do.
ReplyDeleteIn this day and age, technology is advancing faster than ever before. Gone are the days where I pay for songs individually on iTunes. As a fan, I really do enjoy being able to stream music for free on Spotify because it’s convenient and it’s free! But Spotify recently pulled me into their student discount deal paying monthly for their service because I started to get sick of listening to their ads with their free option. However, I can’t listen to Taylor Swift on Spotify because like you said in your blog, revenue streams are between $0.0014 and $0.0084. Therefore, Taylor Swift would rather make her music unavailable altogether on Spotify than be paid little to nothing per stream.
This forces artists like Taylor Swift to now adjust to the times of not being paid enough for their music. It’s a two way street for both the artist and the fan because fans have to adjust to paying monthly for streaming companies and it makes it difficult for fans like myself when artists make their albums available on limited streaming services. It’s almost a monopoly in a way and forces the fan to purchase multiple music streaming subscriptions.
For example, I started to pay for Tidal because Kanye West made his album available only exclusively on Tidal. But it wasn’t a very easy time to be a fan of his music. According to Billboard Magazine, “For one of the most anticipated records of the year, Pablo's release was as messy as the public persona of its creator” (Flanagan and Rys). The album was released streaming exclusively on Tidal and as a download on Kanye West.com. He addressed his decision to make his new album exclusive on Twitter “saying the record would never be for sale and "never on Apple," but only "on Tidal" in a tweet sent on Monday (Feb. 15)” (Flanagan and Rys). It’s almost unfair that I have to purchase both Spotify and Tidal to access certain artists just because they want to take advantage of being exclusive and making the most revenue. Obviously, every artist should be paid when fans purchase their music but almost every artist says that their career wouldn’t be possible without their fans. If that’s the case then music artists should (in my opinion) make their music available across all streaming platforms to gain a bigger fan base.
I think you make some great points in your blog when you mention ways that artists have to make up for their lost revenue in album sales. One of the reasons why Taylor Swift’s tour tickets were so expensive was because of the lost revenue she wasn’t receiving from album sales. She isn’t just a national star she’s a global icon. Her blockbuster ‘1989 World Tour’ topped Pollstar’s annual ranking of the most popular concert attractions globally, according to the Los Angeles Times. Her tour grossed just over $250 million worldwide! I was very surprised to read in your blog that after making that much money just on a world tour, she only made $80 million in 2015. I now can see why Swift had such anger towards Apple Music when she decided to pull her album from the streaming service for not making money during the three month free trial.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think that in order for fans to appreciate and enjoy their favorite music, music artists should make it easy for their fans by releasing their albums across all streaming platforms. However, I do see music artists point of view when not being paid enough in streaming revenue but they just have to make up for that money elsewhere like every other artist has been adjusting to in recent years!
Works Cited
Lewis, Randy. "Taylor Swift's '1989' Is 2015's Highest Grossing Concert Tour by Far." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2015. Web. 12 Apr. 2016. .
Rys, Dan, and Andrew Flanagan. "Kanye West Says 'The Life of Pablo' Will Never Be For Sale and Only on Tidal, Sources Express Confusion."Billboard. Billboard Magazine, 15 Feb. 2016. Web. 12 Apr. 2016. .