Music Streaming Benefits Artists

Music Streaming Benefits Artists
In discussions of music streaming services, one controversial issue has been whether or not using them is harmful to artists. On the one hand, some artists argue that streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora should be avoided as they do not pay musicians enough for their work. On the other hand, music fans contend that streaming services are useful as they make music more accessible. Although the royalties granted by streaming services may seem negligible in comparison to purchasing their music directly, streaming services offer more than just money for artists. As an avid music listener and a paid subscription user of Spotify, my own view is that streaming services are beneficial for artists as they

The large collection of music available makes it easier to discover unknown artists and new songs. According to the chief executive officer of the Australian Independent Record Labels Association, streaming grants attention to lesser known musicians, a beneficial component of such services (Schafter). Artists such as Taylor Swift are quick to dismiss the advantages of streaming services and the benefits they provide by complaining about the amount of royalties granted (Waniata). Although the money made by artists through streaming services may not be as high as they would like, the services offer benefits of more value than just money to artists that want to be paid for their work. According to talent manager Scott Welch, artists make the majority of their money through live performances and tours rather than record sales as most of the revenue goes directly to the artist rather than being shared with songwriters and producers. (Kafka). Streaming services have become a popular platform for sharing and listening to music. With this accessibility, artists are able to get their music to spread and be heard. The exposure granted by streaming services allows for less popular musicians to develop a fanbase that may go on to buy their CDs or go to their concerts in the future, therefore helping and providing money to the artist that they would not receive otherwise. The exposure granted by streaming

The services offer a compromise between the music industry and listeners that do not want to pay a lot of money for their music. Most listeners that want their music for free will find ways to avoid purchasing music from artists and merely downloading tunes illegally, which harms artists. Services such as Pandora and Spotify have a free trial period that then goes on to a premium option that requires a monthly fee, preventing further losses. According to Spotify, its service has reduced pirating rates with 55% of young adults pirate less when given the choice to use a streaming service. While some argue that the royalties granted by such services are minimal and are still harming artists, the money given is still better than earning nothing at all. When streaming services are used, an indie artist may only make $3,000, but it is $3,000 more than what they would receive if their music had been pirated instead (White). Rather than illegally downloading music, streaming services make people pay for music rather than getting it entirely for