I am as pro-artist as they come.
I am also pro-Spotify.
Gasp, I know.
Here’s the deal: you’re right, as an artist you’re really not making any money via Spotify. But as an artist that is trying to make a living off music, you’re not making the bulk of your income off of record sales or streams anyway! It’s songwriters and publishers who have more to be upset with when it comes to the fractions of pennies they are getting from Spotify – not you!
As an artist, the bulk of your income should come from touring, licensing, as much exposure and endorsement deals as you can muster, and thinking like an entrepreneur about unique opportunities to use your gifting to make a living.
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Part of being an artist in this day and age is realizing that streaming in some format is here to stay. So instead of getting worked up and frustrated about the pennies that streaming is leaving on the table for you because of the hordes of people that had planned to buy your album until they saw they could stream it, lean into it!
How can you make streaming work in your favor? How can you utilize it for something you need more than pennies: exposure, listeners that become life-long fans?
Streaming is here to stay, so make it work for you.
If you’re interested in more reading on the subject, here’s a great detailed article from Billboard showing how streaming is not having as adverse an affect as everyone assumes.
Want to make a plan to make streaming work for you? Let’s talk.