When it comes to popular online music streaming service Spotify, it seems like Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth will never lose his love. In a recent interview with Mr. Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece (transcript: chat), the vocalist criticized the service and its practice of paying artists very little per stream.
“Since then things have only gotten worse…I think 2006 was the year that everything changed from being comfortable for musicians. It was never comfortable. But [it went to] The advent of the digital age and the emergence of music streaming platforms that don’t pay anyone is only making it more difficult. Just like Spotify is the world’s biggest criminal. Last year he had 25 million, 6 million views I think, and I personally think he made about £20. This is less than the labor rate per hour.
“For example, the other day my girlfriend has a sick cat. Her cat was very ill and needed life-or-death surgery. I posted a thing online about a GoFundMe, she was going to do a raffle so people could win tattoos, etc. The thing is, a lot of people were like, ‘Why are we doing this for your cat?’ Do I have to pay?” Are you going to date a millionaire? ’ And she said, ‘Sorry, I don’t think you understand how the music industry works these days. First, he was never a millionaire. Second, I am myself and this has nothing to do with him. ”
For those who don’t know, every time you listen to one song by an artist, you get a very low rate. In most cases, artists can expect to receive between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream. So at the estimated high end he will need 100,000 streams even if he only makes $500.
Filth said if the public weren’t aware of that fact, they would continue to consume music through Spotify and assume that musicians make as much money as they did in the pre-internet era.
“I think humans have the following amazing abilities. [believe] If you have something like a physical product out there, you’re making a lot of money out of it. They don’t realize that so many people – record companies, management, accountants – are taking a piece of the pie. it doesn’t matter. If there is no money coming in in the first place, there is not much money to share. And today, the reason people release limited edition records and such is for collectors. Only they buy it. Others just stream without doing anything. That’s why so many bands haven’t toured since the pandemic. Gasoline has gone up. Sightseeing bus rental fees have increased. The cost of living has gone up. Well, it’s a very difficult situation for the band right now. But it doesn’t help that people have the built-in idea that music is not a privilege, that music should be given away for free. So I just walk into someone’s store, pick up a pack of bananas, and say, “This is on a tree.” they should be free. I will go out with this. ’ You will be arrested for shoplifting. But it’s okay for people to download it… Even before the album comes out, if you find a fan who’s like, ‘Oh, I have a link to this song,’ and put it up, people will instantly get it. you get sales. People who buy it for the surprise have already heard it and will quickly move on to the next one.
“Yeah, the music industry is dying right now. I still enjoy making music. We’re finding millions of disadvantages.It’s a tough time.”
It’s certainly a tough time for everyone right now, but we’ve addressed the financial issues the band has had to deal with lately, and it hasn’t been great. The band was forced to cancel the entire tour due to financial problems. I hope things start to level out soon. If not, things will get tougher in the future.
