The way music is produced, distributed and consumed or listened to has changed due to new media, digital technologies.This essay will examine in depth Spotify and its streaming service through breaking down the various implications; both positive and negative that it has. New Media is the digital transformation of communication, information and entertainment media including music (Giddings, 2). Overall, this essay will discuss the idea that however convenient streaming on Spotify may be for it’s users it inevitably has a number of issues. The reason for these issues are all to do with monetary motivation and balancing between distribution/access, ownership/control of music files and the public a private rights and interests (Katz, 300). Copyright, …show more content…
Spotify sources its content from media companies and record labels such as Universal, Sony and Warner Music Group. Katz recognises the economic challenges of new ‘listening-technology’ and suggests that following in the steps of broadcast radio is the best way to manage these issues compensating artists for airplay, to the public without requesting permission from the owners each time (Kats, 330). Although it appears that is what streaming has done, and Spotify does have a higher rate of pay per play, the same economic challenges, are still clear. The revenue that an individual artist sees depends on the number of stream. Spotify’s total revenue comprises of advertising and subscription, 70% of that income is returned to the labels, that own the music licence, who then pay the artists their share. Artists end up with little more than a ‘penny per play’ despite billions of streams (businessinsider.com, 1). Raymond William’s idea that new media has complex interactions between new needs or interests applies to Spotify (Williams, 96). This royalty structure favours artists with overwhelming playcounts, therefore Spotify is not a useful platform for relatively unknown or low-key artists, however mainstream artists are also