US band Vulfpeck managed to squeeze $21,000 out of Spotify streaming royalties – from an album of complete silence.
They uploaded the ten-track release Sleepify and asked fans to keep it on repeat while they slept, in order to fund their upcoming tour. In return, tickets to every show would be free.
Describing it as “the most silent album ever recorded,” they managed to raise $19,655.56 from over 5.5million playbacks, with each track generating around three-tenths of a cent per play. They also became entitled to a copyright payment of around $1100.
Spotify, who admitted the release was a “clever stunt,” asked the band to remove the album in April after it had been available for seven weeks, then took it down itself.
And while the band at first doubted their payments would be made, keyboardist Jack Stratton has now confirmed the money came through.
