Popular Music Streaming Controversy

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It seems like we are living in some sort of golden age of streaming. Virtually all forms of media are at our disposal at this point in time. It doesn't matter the medium of entertainment: music, film, or television shows, they are all only a click away. However, controversy has been brewing for quite some time since streaming became something of a consumer norm. Issues include compensation for artists and producers, exclusive content for being on one particular service, and the crowding out of older businesses. But this isn’t all there is to streaming, as some companies have it better than others; simply because one is centered on movies and TV shows and the other is centered on music. DESPITE IMPRESSIVE GROWTH, SPOTIFY MAKES LESS PROFIT THAN NETFLIX There's no doubt the most popular music streaming service, Spotify, has been doing better than its main music streaming competitors, Apple Music and Tidal. But how does Spotify match up with the …show more content…

Netflix’s service is more profitable because of their ability to gain revenue from subscribers is structured more efficiently than Spotify’s. A music streaming service like Spotify has to pay in advance for the music that might be streamed by subscribers, even if certain artists never get streamed. Musicians themselves are reluctant about, if not occasionally hostile towards Spotify. Musicians rarely want to help Spotify in a way that will increase Spotify's profit margins because their model is already set up to make artists feel like they are being left shorthanded. Emily Wolfe, a musician here in Austin, weighed in on her ambivalence towards Spotify in a comment to City Gram: “If Spotify paid $1 per play, I’d be set financially — but right now; pay per single play is a fraction of a penny. I love Spotify for many reasons, but there are definitely a couple of

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