Spotify urged in petition to permanently triple their pay per stream for artists

Spotify is being urged through a new petition to start paying artists more amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The petition is pushing for the streaming service to pay artists triple what they are currently and keep it as a permanent move going forward.

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Musician Evan Greer is kicking off the campaign calling for the change while highlighting the need for artists to make a living wage and “not be left vulnerable or living gig to gig.”

Further, they’re asking the company to donate $500,000 to Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 fund which is seeking to offer economic help to struggling artists affected by the pandemic.

The petition has a statement attached which you can read below.

“The COVID 19 pandemic has been devastating for musicians. Entire tours and festivals have been canceled. Artists have lost income they are depending on to feed their families, and the future is completely uncertain. Many in the music industry are trying to help. Events are moving online, and Bandcamp just announced a major fundraiser on March 20th where they’ll donate their revenue share on every download and purchase.

But Spotify has done nothing. They’re continuing to exploit musicians by paying next to nothing for streams, even while there are more and more people at home listening to music. This is a moment when Big Tech companies need to do their part to help.”

Read More: Spotify pays the least per stream according to independent artist

Earlier this year, independent cellist Zoë Keating told Business Insider the realities of Spotify paying the lowest amount of any streaming service.

Keating offered up a breakdown of her royalty payments and despite being most popular on Spotify, she makes the least amount of money from them.

She earns $0.012 per stream from Apple Music and around $0.003 per stream from Spotify after fees.

While the musician is streamed the least on iHeartRadio, she makes the most per stream on the platform at $0.017.

Apple Music, Tidal, and Amazon Music also paid Keating more per stream compared to other services. She was streamed most often on Spotify and Pandora though.

An alternative system discussed in Business Insider‘s piece outlines a more user-centric system. Basically, if a user pays their $9.99 per month and only listens to one artist on the streaming service, that artist would receive 100 percent of that profit.

Do you think Spotify should follow the demands of the petition? Let us know in the comments below.

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