A petition has been started to urge Spotify to pay their artists more money per stream, as musicians continue to struggle financially due to lost revenue amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Musician Evan Greer has set up the campaign and is calling on the streaming giant to triple the amount artists are paid per stream and to make the increase permanent so musicians can make a living wage and “not be left vulnerable or living gig to gig.”
The petition is also asking Spotify to make a $500,000 donation to Sweet Relief’s COVID-19 Fund, which has been organised to financially help musicians and music industry workers who have been affected by the ongoing situation.
Greer says on the petition’s front page: “The COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for musicians. Entire tours and festivals have been cancelled. 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, while Bandcamp have a major fundraiser today (March 20) 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.”
The Action Network petition is available online now.
Here at Louder, we’ve set up a live hub page to let music fans know what innovative steps bands are taking to generate income during the coronavirus lockdown. This will be updated regularly with news as we get it.
