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In February 2022, Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter India.Arie removed her music from Spotify in protest that the audio streaming platform paid podcaster Joe Rogan $200 million. . (Logan later apologized for his comment.
But recently, she announced via Instagram that she has decided to bring music back to the platform. Among them was a video explaining why she removed her own music from her Spotify in the first place and her motivations for putting it back. “People thought I was publicly fighting Joe Rogan,” she said. “It wasn’t me. I was openly fighting with Spotify.”
Ally also wants to clarify what she feels are misconceptions that the public has developed about her in the year since she protested against Spotify. Arie is her real name, not her stage name. For another, despite online trolls suggesting she’s an “under-the-radar” artist, or one she “never was,” she’s RIAA-certified platinum for her album. Multiple releases (including her critically acclaimed 2001 breakout). acoustic soul), BET Awards, NAACP Awards, Grammy Awards and more, you can influence today’s artists, from HER to Ariana Grande.
“I was a big player and had a lot of success, so I could still have these conversations,” she says. “Because you have to be very successful in order for people to still want to talk to you after 23 years.”
Below, Ally speaks billboard about her decision to bring her music back to Spotify, her feelings about the Grammys, and her legacy as an artist. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Can you explain why you decided to remove your music from Spotify?
I did it in the name of my dignity.
It was a protest. I have been in the music industry for 24 years.I signed a record deal in 1999 and know all too well how racism works in the music industry to be satisfied with what I see. sells most of their music, and they know how black people matter [music industry], and in the creation of music, times – we all know. Black music has the most streams.” I’m like, “I know that.”
And we know that black music streams the most [and how] Streaming is seriously impacting people’s ability to make a living as songwriters. And they throw in front of us that this guy who uses racist language he’s been given $200 million. For me, my dignity could not stand it.
I didn’t think anyone would care, because I’ve talked about things in the past. The concept of race comes up again, because people didn’t care until this white man got involved. This is welcome to the world.
How has songwriters been affected by the streaming you’ve seen and been concerned about?
It’s not just what I’ve seen, it’s what we’ve all experienced. So, before streaming, his method of royalty payment involved selling his CDs and playing radio. And when CD sales are gone…because who’s going to buy albums anymore? We all buy everything digitally. It was a revolution.
And when this revolution happened, record labels and streaming platforms came together. Record labels had to partner with streaming platforms. So they entered into this partnership to determine how much money people would be paid. I don’t know why I put out a number like this, but I’m like, “This is what it’s worth now. So forget what you were getting. I put out albums before and after streaming and my So did many of our friends who wrote songs for the album.This is not a theory, this is what we have experienced.
Many of us feel these numbers are random. Labels and streaming platforms feel they are worth 0.333% of 0.333%. take it or leave it. What the average person thinks is that he pays $10 a month to access all this music, like Spotify, and some of that goes to the artists they buy. , in fact it is not. All the money goes to the label, part of it goes to his Spotify, and the person is paid for what the label and streaming platform together deem the value of the stream. I don’t know where the number came from. i don’t know anyone i know
Are there artists behind the scenes who reach out to you with moral support?
There was a little More people said, “No, I don’t want to talk about this.” I will be no? OK…” One artist who remains anonymous told me, “I think you should just shut up.” And I was like, ‘Well, enjoy all your success. I’m here fighting for those of us who still have regular careers.
But some just wanted to get in touch and talk about it… not many, but two people who did get in touch were like, ‘Well, I’m still on the label. It’s like, “Okay.” I remember those days when you could put something on your head. No matter what you do, if you choose an album cover that’s not what they wanted, they’ll say, ‘Maybe it won’t come out. Or if you didn’t do a remix or use an artist they wanted, they’d keep something over your head. And the two artists who wanted to talk about it, I knew exactly what they were talking about, the punishment that was coming.
But there were only two of them. And some others were like, “Oh, that’s cool. I see you. I’ll see you at your activist s–t…” In case…” there was almost no such thing. None of the artists I reached out to said, “I’ll do it with you.”
I later found out, through a very prominent attorney, that some of his clients were talking about it behind the scenes, and asked him to go to Spotify to speak on their behalf and show their disgust. I made a request. I believe this had something to do with Spotify as well. [coming to understand] The nuclear nature of the N-word, why some black people have a zero-tolerance policy about it.And I know people raised their voices in the back [the scenes]Said, so.but it wasn’t much [public] moral support.
Why did you decide to move your music back to Spotify?
Something big changed for me when I started receiving these royalty payments. I’m getting my first one this year. but also [NMPA president/CEO] David Israeli won the lawsuit [the royalty rate for songwriters will be increased from 10.5% to 15.1% over the course of stream payments from the years 2018 to 2022]when you’re getting a fraction of a penny, this is huge.
So when those two things changed, I put my music back on. Because I want a check. Not only do you want the check, you deserve it. It’s still not enough. There is still much that needs to change if the music industry is to remain humane. But I stood up for myself and got my shift. I need a check.
do you own a master?
not yet. But I’ve been in this industry for so long that the time has come. It would be a natural naturalization. But having a Master is one of my great prayers.
Are conversations ongoing about your relationship with Spotify and how they can support black artists?
No, at first they invited me to talk. And first they asked, “What do you think we can do?”
But after that no one ever answered my phone again. No. I contacted them again late last year and they said: we don’t want to talk about it. When they started making some changes we saw, like removing about 70 episodes of Joe Rogan’s podcast, they also agreed to pledge $100 million to podcasters of color. I did. That was their language.I wanted you to [specifically] Be a black podcaster because you make a difference. So I tried to contact them about it. They didn’t want to talk about it.
Then, this summer, around August, I called him again to ask if he was willing to publicly apologize to artists of color. Simple to me – it would make you look good – but they said “no”. they answered yes. They said, “No, it’s behind us.” No, it’s not an ongoing relationship. But it’s not my fault. Because I have things to say and initiatives I want to participate in.
A bit of a turnaround: There was the infamous Grammy night of 2002, which had seven awards nominated (five for Alicia Keys, one for U2, one for U2, and one for U2). brother, where are you? soundtrack). There’s still a lot of conversation about racism with the Grammys, especially when it comes to artists like Beyoncé not winning bigger awards.
yes. of course. I went into the night and thought, ‘This is the night the industry votes. I believed it all. And stopped understanding the politics of race in the industry. After that night, I was very clear about it.And when Beyoncé didn’t win [in 2017] for lemonadeI was watching it with some friends.
at this last Grammy [Awards], I didn’t see this either. And it wasn’t even a protest – it wasn’t even on my radar. It means nothing.
But the last time I went [at the 2020 awards], stepped off the red carpet. First of all, I told myself I would look great — I did, and photos from that night went viral on Twitter and Instagram several times. I told myself I was going to tell the truth to any question that was asked of me.and i had a video from it [night] It went viral out of America today.I feel like it was a night when I was freed from such expectations [The Grammys] Or the ability for it to hurt my feelings. And now this last one has come and gone.
22 years since the debut album. acoustic soul It came out. Can you think about how that album changed your life and how it relates to you now?
of course, acoustic soul completely changed my life. From college students playing under the tree to opening for Sade with 50 tour dates. And after the tour ended, with seven Grammy nominations, my life has never been the same…in a good way or in a challenging way.
There are other conversations about the lasting impact of the . acoustic soul Not just that album, but my whole aesthetic. I can hear you.And at the age I released acoustic soulFor me, Stevie Wonder is ideal for all music. Such, [multiple] People who listen to my music for generations, people who marry my music, people who have it as their birth playlist — that’s all I wanted, and it made a difference in people’s lives. It was about making music to be a part of. For me it was very difficult.
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