Apple Gains as Songwriters Come Out Against Spotify
In 2017, Spotify launched its Secret Genius Awards annual event to honor songwriters and producers behind some of the streaming platform’s most-played songs. But now some of those same honorees are speaking out about something much less celebrated — Spotify’s plan to appeal Copyright Royalty Board rates, along with Google, Pandora and Amazon.
“We’re hurt and disappointed,” the dozens of songwriters wrote in an an open letter to Spotify on Tuesday (April 9) addressed to Spotify chief Daniel Ek and shared with Billboard. “You created a songwriter relations team and ingratiated Spotify into our community. We know that you are not the only DSP appealing the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) rate determination. You are, however, the only provider that made us feel we were working to build a modern music industry together.”
It seems silly, from a PR standpoint, that Spotify would pick this battle (along with another two at the same time). But how could the company know that songwriters — and a good segment of the industry — would come together with such force? Historically musicians and their industry don’t exactly agree, delivering a fragmented and unfocused protest at best. Perhaps songwriters have been emboldened by the Music Modernization Act, or the pervasive atmosphere of protest we live in now, or the vilification of the tech industry by its own actions, led by Facebook. A combination of the three is most likely.
Spotify will probably be the loser in this PR war. And the winner might be the tech giant that’s sitting this one out, according to Variety:
Ultimately, Apple, which for years was the company the music industry most loved to hate, is now in an enviable position. If Spotify wins its appeal against the CRB — which is considered a long shot — Apple benefits by paying reduced royalty rates. If Spotify loses the appeal, Apple, by not joining the other streamers, looks like the hero. And
if, at the urging of songwriters, artists start jumping on a #CancelSpotify bandwagon, Apple Music stands to gain subscribers.
“Unlike Spotify, music is not Apple’s core business, thus allowing [it] to sit this one out, with Spotify taking the heat and the legal bills that follow,” says Jeff Rabhan, chair of the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU Tisch. “By choosing to watch this war from the sidelines, Apple has made a brilliant move by making no move at all.”
🔗→ Spotify’s Secret Genius Songwriters Pen Letter to Daniel Ek Over CRB Rate Appeal: ‘You Have Used Us’
🔗→ Apple Is the Real Winner in Spotify’s Battle Against Songwriters’ Rate Hike
Spotify’s Auto-Play Means Less Royalty For Songwriters
An astute observation by Billboard:
Although songwriters, publishers, or everyday people may not be aware, Spotify — like YouTube — has now moved to a model that auto-plays songs after a user listens to one they selected. […]
On the plus side, what this does is keep listeners engaged on the site, which is a benefit that Spotify likes. And it has the potential to turn listeners on to more music, a benefit that all rights owners, publishers, songwriters, labels and artists should like. And it steers payments to artists and songwriters whose songs weren’t chosen to be played.
But it represents a downside in per-stream payments for songwriters and artists, too. Since the payout pool is divided by streams, the more streams that occur in a month, the further the per-stream payout decreases. In addition to songs that users choose to play, their devices will automatically play other songs after they hear the song they wanted. Who knows how many additional plays accrue due to automation — but it’s safe to say those plays are further diluting the per-stream payout for artists and songwriters whose songs the consumer chooses to play.
I also believe Spotify’s auto-played songs fall under ‘non-interactive streaming’ (AKA ‘internet radio’). This means that mechanical royalty does not apply. So this auto-play feature may partly serve to lessen a user’s amount of ‘interactive’ streams, allowing the platform the decrease its overall royalty pay-out.
Please correct me if I’m wrong. But if I’m right, and you’re a Spotify user, maybe think about turning off the auto-play mechanism in the app’s settings.
🔗→ The CRB Rate Trial Explained: How Publishers, Digital Services Weighed In At The Time
Spotify is “Effectively Suing Songwriters”
Yesterday (March 7), it emerged that four major owners of digital music services – Spotify, Amazon, Google and Pandora – had lodged legal appeals against the US Copyright Royalty Board’s recent decision to raise streaming royalties for songwriters (and music publishers) by 44%. That royalty rise, which previously looked locked in, is now in serious jeopardy.
Apple Music, in contrast, has accepted the new rates, and declined to challenge what’s viewed as an important pay hike for songwriters.
Remember when Kendrick Lamar and (reportedly) other artists threatened to pull music from Spotify over the arbitrary ‘hate conduct’ ban policy? Spotify quickly backtracked. This might be another opportunity for artists to show Spotify and the streaming industry who really needs who more.
And, as with privacy, Apple continues to brand themselves as the company that does the right thing. I’ll contain my cynicism (which I have for any corporate organization) and say ‘good on them.’
🔗→ Wait… Spotify is ‘suing songwriters’? What the heck is going on?
Spotify and the GIF as Album Cover
via Hypebot:
Spotify is beta testing Canvas, a new feature which allows artists and labels to add a fullscreen, 3-8 second moving visual to tracks. It replaces cover art and will loop in the Now Playing view of the Spotify app.
Remember when a few ambitious bands released LPs with trippy 3D covers, and you had to wear special glasses to appreciate the artwork? This is kind of like that but also nothing like that at all.
This GIF linked in the article shows the feature in action. Though that example is a bit underwhelming, it does give an opening taste of how streaming platforms will utilize visuals. The forever morphing album cover isn’t far off.
Some people aren’t having it. Via Lifehacker:
I think Canvas is a neat idea—it’s essentially an album art GIF—but I tend to listen to Spotify rather than watch it, so the idea of an endlessly looping video seems like a silly waste of data. Spotify says Canvas is “optimized to use very little data and battery,” so I don’t want to overemphasize the impact of turning it off, but it’s still something you should consider if you don’t want the annoyance.
🔗→ With Spotify Canvas, Artists Add Moving Visuals To Tracks
🔗→ How to Get Rid of Spotify’s Looping ‘Canvas’ Videos
Spotify’s Podcast Ambitions Are Clear
Not only has Spotify acquired Gimlet Media, a podcast producer and network, for around $230 million but it has also bought Anchor, a startup that makes it easier for people to record and distribute their own podcasts.
The company says it isn’t done — it says it has other podcast acquisitions in mind, and that it expects to spend up to $500 million on deals this year.
Spotify is taking the Netflix model, in short. As the company grows, it’s inevitable that established record labels will start charging higher licensing fees. Podcasts, however, is something that Spotify can buy and own as exclusive content. If it green-lights the right shows, it could pull users away from third-party podcast apps and then slowly persuade them to take out a premium subscription. Anchor, too, gives Spotify the potential to rapidly build a YouTube-style distribution network.
The Gimlet Media deal is a glimpse of where Spotify is headed, but, coupled with the Anchor acquisition, we’re seeing the platform’s transformation into a different kind of company. As Spotify co-founder and CEO Daniel Ek
🔗→ Spotify has bought two podcast startups and it wants to buy more
🔗→ Spotify finally made a profit and spent big on its podcast future
Spotify Strenghtens Podcast Hopes with Gimlet Media
Spotify is in talks to acquire Gimlet Media, multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter, as it sets its sights on becoming a bigger player in the podcasting space.
The move by the music streaming giant signals just how seriously it is taking its push into other forms of audio entertainment. Spotify and Gimlet representatives declined to comment. […]
By acquiring Gimlet, Spotify would tap into a podcasting production powerhouse that has churned out such hits as Heavyweight, scripted series Homecoming and Reply All.
This is an interesting development and adds extra context to our earlier post regarding how Spotify can rebrand as an audio platform rather than solely a music platform. Gimlet is a smart company. I am sure they would not agree to this arrangement without assurance that Spotify will prioritize and enhance the podcast experience on the service.
The report notes that Gimlet owns its intellectual property (thus, the content of its hosted shows) which the company can leverage into film and television adaptations, among other possibilities. That adds an extra dimension to Spotify’s plans. One of those shows is StartUp, which, at times, documents the inner workings of Gimlet in real time. I’d love the network to add new Gimlet-related episodes that follow the progress of this Spotify deal.
By the way, I’m a fan of the Gimlet show Reply All. If you haven’t heard it yet, this episode about an Indian telephone scammer is fantastic.
