The streaming giant is under pressure from musicians to increase artist compensation in light of the widespread loss of income across the industry
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An online petition organised by musician Evan Greer is calling on streaming platform Spotify to increase its royalty rates to rights holders in the wake of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the music industry. Many of the main revenue streams for artists, performers, musicians and DJs have been severely affected following government guidance regarding social distancing, with concerts and events cancelled for the foreseeable future.
The Guardian reported today that Spotify had released the following statement: “There’s no question this is a challenging time for our creator community and we are working to assist them through MusiCares’ Covid-19 relief fund to provide much-needed assistance.”
Greer’s campaign makes three clear demands which are likely to prove popular with musicians, performers and rights holders:
- Triple the amount paid per stream.
- Make this change permanent.
- Make a $500,000 donation to Sweet Relief’s COVID 19 fund, a relief fund set up to support artists affected illness, disability or age-related problems.
Although Spotify has never officially disclosed how much it pays artists per stream, it is estimated to be around $0.00318. Greer’s campaign comes on the day that online digital streaming service and online music retailer Bandcamp are waiving their fees for 24 hours in a bid to increase artist’s income, a move widely praised across the industry.