New figures from Europe show that for every €9.99 monthly subscription to music streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer, only 68 cents go directly to the artist.
French industry trade body SNEP, whose members include labels Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music, conducted a survey with business firm Ernst & Young to determine how cash is distributed from payments to subscription streaming services.
And, according to the figures highlighted by Music Business Worldwide, major labels take €4.56 of payments, with €2.08 going to the digital platform holders, €1 to publishers and songwriters, and 68 cents direct to the artists. The remaining cash goes to the government in the form of tax.
He said: “A record label signs an artist to sell music at different destinations. They license music to streaming companies, and when they do, they get around 70% of the money. On downloads, just like on CDs, they pay a royalty to the artist. But on streaming they don’t – they use a legal loophole called ‘breakage.’
“This is something artist lawyers need to address. They need to be strong and protect the artist, not the labels. We should all get paid for our music and force an honest payment plan that ensures new artists have a future, as well as established artists.”
