Spotify launched Loud & Clear, a new web portal that features data on how Spotify flows are determined and paid for. Months under construction, the site was launched today after a series of protests outside Spotify’s offices by the Union of Musicians and Allied Workers. In announcing the initiative, Spotify founder / CEO Daniel Ek said: “57,000 artists now represent 90% of monthly streams on Spotify – a number that has quadrupled in just six years. Our goal is to help musicians who want to be or are professionals to make a living. “
Charlie Hellman, Spotify’s vice president and head of market, who has been with the company for a decade, told Pitchfork that the initiative aims to give artists and composers more transparency about the streaming economy. “Throughout the time I was on Spotify, artist payments and royalties were an everyday topic – but I think externally, we don’t talk as much as we should to contribute more to the conversation,” he said. “This is really what we are trying to do here: share a little more and recognize that artists really deserve more clarity on how this music streaming economy is working.”
Loud & Clear offers several features for this purpose, including a video called “Loud & Clear: How the Money Flows” and a section with several graphics detailing how many artists are reaching different revenue limits on Spotify. According to the data, 870 artists each generated more than $ 1 million in recording and publishing royalties in 2020; 1,820 generated more than $ 500,000; 7,800 generated more than $ 100,000; and 13,400 generated more than $ 50,000.
Hellman says Spotify’s incentives are in line with those of the artists. He cites the data and the huge year-over-year growth in which artists achieve these royalty numbers. For example, the number of artists who can generate royalties of $ 50,000 or more per year on Spotify has increased by 80% over the four-year period, from 7,300 in 2017 to 13,400 in 2020.
“If you look at the graphs of how artists at different income levels have grown over the past four years, what you see clearly is that Spotify has invested in a more engaging consumer experience: having a better schedule, launching in new countries, all the things we do to invest in our business – they make the cake grow for everyone, ”said Hellman. “We are constantly testing to see what is the price that maximizes revenue for [any given] market, because if we can find the price that maximizes revenue, this is better for Spotify and better for all artists. When we increase our revenues, the artists’ revenues increase. When we improve our programming, more artists can fit in and have a chance to increase the audience. “