Weird Al: Streaming Revenue

[Dynamic Editor]

Well if Al is doing the math right, this is pretty damn shocking:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/weird-al-yankovic-thanks-spotify-064407648.html
It makes me wonder why artists have embraced the streaming approach? Maybe they should go back to physical media. That has had better return in the past, yes?

I'd be genuinely surprised if it were actually $12. That being said, even factors above that are as well not sustainable ventures for musicians.

I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Al intentionally lowballed with the $12 to try and cause enough controversy to get Spotify to publicly reply with the correct amount, a higher figure that is still outright insulting, ultimately proving Al's point.

 

[kfbkfb]

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/dec/07/bbc-will-go-online-only-by-2030s-says-director-general
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-cbc-digital-streaming/
There's a lot of discussion about streaming vs. radio over in radiodiscussions.com (I suggested they acquire the streamingdiscussions.com URL)

Maybe all that will be available in the not too distant future is streamed audio (and video) and physical media made on demand using CD-Rs/DVD-Rs/BD-Rs.


Kirk Bayne

 

[atrocity]

Well if Al is doing the math right, this is pretty damn shocking:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/weird-al-yankovic-thanks-spotify-064407648.html
It makes me wonder why artists have embraced the streaming approach? Maybe they should go back to physical media. That has had better return in the past, yes?

It's been more years than I'd care to think about now, but someone once asked Al if he'd prefer that people buy his physical media or MP3/AAC files. (This was so long ago that I'm not sure streaming had even really been established yet.) He made it very clear that physical sales paid him better.

What's really infuriating (and, in hindsight, entirely predictable) about this is how we were all told that Napster and the like were hurting artists' incomes (no doubt true), but of course what we know now is that the biggest complainers other than Metallica were actually the record companies and their hate group, the RIAA, who didn't give a micro-shit about paying the artists but were mad about losing their cut.

That aside, I'm curious how this insane disparity came about. As evil as the compulsively greedy can be, I still don't see how they could have unilaterally declared that We Won't Pay You For Streaming. Given all the fuss we've had for decades about things like songs being replaced in home video versions of movies due to $$$, it seems that artists as a group have historically had at least some control over new technology. What got them to sign up for this?

I'm not trying to blame the victim here, I assume they believed they'd make out OK. I'm just genuinely curious how this horrible reality came to be.

 

[edisonbaggins]

Well if Al is doing the math right, this is pretty damn shocking:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/weird-al-yankovic-thanks-spotify-064407648.html
It makes me wonder why artists have embraced the streaming approach? Maybe they should go back to physical media. That has had better return in the past, yes?

$12 cannot get me a nice sandwich at any restaurant I can think of, anywhere near me.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

$12 cannot get me a nice sandwich at any restaurant I can think of, anywhere near me.

Funny, yes, but that's one of the things that went through my head while reading that!

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

Yeah for this reason I'm actually considering taking my music off streaming.
My main audience is here. You guys use downloads or discs. I'm not a big social media guy, so I don't really get the promotion I need. I get a maximum of 5 streams a month.
The amount I get =/= the amount it costs.

 

[barfle]

https://www.wired.com/story/spotify-layoffs-music-streaming-future/
I have no idea who’s making money off Spotify, but apparently Spotify isn’t.

 

[par4ken]

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/dec/07/bbc-will-go-online-only-by-2030s-says-director-general
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-cbc-digital-streaming/
There's a lot of discussion about streaming vs. radio over in radiodiscussions.com (I suggested they acquire the streamingdiscussions.com URL)

Maybe all that will be available in the not too distant future is streamed audio (and video) and physical media made on demand using CD-Rs/DVD-Rs/BD-Rs.


Kirk Bayne

This is something that really bothers me. The CBC has in the past provided nearly all of the country with off the air TV service. With the move from analogue to digital all of the analogue TV transmitters were shut down. The larger centres got new digital transmitters. Smaller and medium sized communities got nothing! It was assumed that everyone had cable or satellite TV and so no longer required over the air broadcasting, add to that people are streaming TV through the internet as well.

Personally I think that this is a terrible result/trend to do away with over the air broadcasting. A public broadcaster in particular should be required to provide a signal that is available to everyone free without the need to pay for cable, satellite or internet!

Sadly the switch may be inevitable in the long run, just like the move away from physical medium (discs) in favour of streaming. I once loved/embraced new technology, now I'm far more often at odds with it!

 

[atrocity]

Personally I think that this is a terrible result/trend to do away with over the air broadcasting.

It's 1) Optimism and 2) Putting all their eggs in one basket. Neither will end well.

 

[humprof]

https://www.wired.com/story/spotify-layoffs-music-streaming-future/
I have no idea who’s making money off Spotify, but apparently Spotify isn’t.

3d round of layoffs in the past year. I think that when they started out, they were hoping to follow Amazon's example: years of unprofitability followed by market dominance and gobs of money. The ground has shifted, though. Look for subscription price hikes in the short term--from all the streaming services, not just Spotify. But in the long run?

 

[kfbkfb]

It seems to me that about 100 people (if that) could run an audio streaming company - it doesn't seem like there's much to do - license music, digitize it (if needed) and code various types of software to select, combine into lists and playout the songs and add targeted ads.

Maybe one of the big movie/TV streaming cos (Hulu, Netflix) could offer audio only streaming too (since they offer MCH audio with some of their movies/TV, maybe they could be convinced to offer MCH audio streaming).


Kirk Bayne

 

[barfle]

This is something that really bothers me. The CBC has in the past provided nearly all of the country with off the air TV service. With the move from analogue to digital all of the analogue TV transmitters were shut down. The larger centres got new digital transmitters. Smaller and medium sized communities got nothing! It was assumed that everyone had cable or satellite TV and so no longer required over the air broadcasting, add to that people are streaming TV through the internet as well.

Personally I think that this is a terrible result/trend to do away with over the air broadcasting. A public broadcaster in particular should be required to provide a signal that is available to everyone free without the need to pay for cable, satellite or internet!

Sadly the switch may be inevitable in the long run, just like the move away from physical medium (discs) in favour of streaming. I once loved/embraced new technology, now I'm far more often at odds with it!

There was a time in the US when we had a program called “Low Power TV” (LPTV) that allowed a handful of independent people to set up small TV channels. It never really took off in the places I lived, although I seem to recall watching one or two. Definitely little more than home movies, so not real exciting stuff, but it made for a bit more variety and openness in broadcasting. Maybe they can stream now, although I haven’t seen anything like that since analog TV was shut down.

 

[barfle]

3d round of layoffs in the past year. I think that when they started out, they were hoping to follow Amazon's example: years of unprofitability followed by market dominance and gobs of money. The ground has shifted, though. Look for subscription price hikes in the short term--from all the streaming services, not just Spotify. But in the long run?

I think one BIG problem with being a music streamer is how to differentiate yourself from the competition. With linear radio, that’s easy - pick a genre and run with it. But it seems like audio streamers are all playing the same stuff, simply because they all have enormous capacity, and a lot of the listeners look for specific recordings.

 

[Fourplay]

There was a time in the US when we had a program called “Low Power TV” (LPTV) that allowed a handful of independent people to set up small TV channels. It never really took off in the places I lived, although I seem to recall watching one or two. Definitely little more than home movies, so not real exciting stuff, but it made for a bit more variety and openness in broadcasting. Maybe they can stream now, although I haven’t seen anything like that since analog TV was shut down.

YouTube is LPTV.