No, it is an accounting issue, stemming from corporate greed. There is value in labels with their contacts, distribution, marketing and global reach. Going the DIY route has been proven to not match the power of the machine. Artist just need to receive what they have been paid, as opposed to that money going to labels and getting “lost”. It’s been this way for decades. Remember all the front money from dot coms in the late 90s and early 2000s? Little to none of that made it to the artists.

In the US, iPhones have about 60% market share to 40% Android. Worldwide, it’s 75% Android and 25% iPhone. Apple Music is available in 167 countries. By the end of 2021, Spotify should be available in over 170 countries. Royalty rates outside of “first world” Western countries are considerably less due to their standards of living.

When you say that Apple numbers are comparable to Spotify, what numbers are you comparing? Stream counts or earnings?

Lots of people distribute music, but most earn nothing or very little from it so I have no idea what your numbers are. My income these days is from streaming, publishing, samples, and syncs. There are other things like downloads and physical media, but that has fallen off in the past couple of years.

You may very well see equal Apple and Spotify earnings, but I’ve been at this a long time. Same with my friends and acquaintances. We’re all seeing the same thing over the years: Spotify earns us a lot more than Apple. Significantly more.

Why is that? That’s a good question to ask. Sure, it could be different demographics, but I doubt it. I’ll make sure to ask this question on future Zoom calls I have with other musicians in the industry.

It’s not an accounting issue, it’s a shiny object issue. Too many artists are enthralled with the idea of having a record deal, effectively selling their souls in the process. Savvy (and talented) artists, don’t need labels as prior generations did. Cheaper production and social media allow artists the ability to remain independent, they just have to be willing to get their hands dirty.

So the problem is with the accounting departments within record labels, as usual.

I’m subscribed to Apple & have a few friends who use it, too. Actually because most people have iphones it’s the most convenient music streaming service. I also distribute music and the Apple numbers are comparable to Spotify. Not seeing your point.

Scooby,

I guess you missed the part in my first paragraph where I wrote, “ask anybody who gets royalties.”

Do you receive royalties from streaming? You sound like you don’t.

I’ve got all my numbers from each service.

I network with a lot of other musicians who receive streaming royalties. It’s not just one style of music represented. We talk about the different services.

All of us have experienced the same thing: we earn significantly more money from Spotify than we do from Apple Music.

Do you have any proof that Apple Music subscribers cater to a different demographic or have different tastes? Of course you don’t.

But we have seemingly countless examples of Apple, as a corporate entity, lying about their businesses, making their computer and mobile devices impossible to repair, engaging in cartel behavior with the major labels, using child labor, avoiding taxes, and other legal abuses.

Why wouldn’t they lie about subscriber numbers? There’s no way to verify it.

One thing that is true: Apple Music tends to pay around a penny a stream.

But YouTube Music is currently paying around a $0.0125 a stream. I’ve even seen some Amazon Music Unlimited streams in the US that are paying around $0.015. Napster often pays over a penny a stream.

You’d know this if you ever released music and received royalty statements, or had musician friends who earned money from streaming and weren’t signed to a label.

Not really.

There can be many explanations, such as Apple Music subscribers cater to a different demographic and/or have different tastes than the music you’ve published.

Spotify has roughly double the number of paying subscribers of Apple Music, but I have consistently received 10 to 15 times more money on a monthly basis from Spotify for years. How is that possible? Especially with Spotify paying such a smaller per-stream?

There can only be one explanation. Apple is faking their subscriber and usage numbers for PR purposes.