Decryption | Local artists looking to listen

Changes are underway at Spotify regarding royalty sharing. And with the disappearance of Qub musique, the only platform to provide a real place for Quebec artists, our French-speaking music is losing visibility online. Shedding light on a portrait that is getting darker for local artists, that of music platforms.

Positive review at Spotify?

The largest music streaming platform, Spotify, recently announced a review of its distribution method. In particular, it changes the remuneration rules for non-musical sound files (nature noises, white noise, etc.) and wants to stop paying royalties for songs that are played approximately less than 200 times per year. Savings – 1 billion, according to Music Business Weekly – would be added to the sums already paid in royalties. “Pretending that we want to support an industry by penalizing those who don’t play a lot seems to me to be behavior guided by the interests of multinationals,” judges Jean-Robert Bisaillon, digital researcher associated with the University of Quebec in Montreal ( UQAM), further specifying that recording giants are among Spotify’s shareholders. The positive aspect of these changes, observes SOCAN, is that they mark the giant’s desire to promote music and to marginalize “parasitic elements”, underlines Alexandre Alonso, executive director of Quebec affairs for this company. ‘assigns. The losses are expected to be minimal for rights holders: the artists affected by this modification would in any case have only received a few pennies for an entire year.

Qub musique: a significant loss?

The end of Qub musique, announced in February 2022 after less than two years of existence, forced an observation: “If a large company like Quebecor cannot establish itself, no one else here is positioned to compete with major platforms [internationales] », summarizes Alexandre Alonso. Like others, he notes that Qub musique’s market share was not sufficient to have a significant impact on artists’ income. What the community especially regrets is the loss of the only platform that was committed to promoting local music and its ability to offer playlists adapted to Quebec reality (mixture of songs in English and in French, in particular). “Qub did the job that we expect from other streaming platforms,” underlines Simon Claus, director of public affairs and research at ADISQ. “We could see that the lists were made by humans,” also says Jean-Robert Bisaillon. Other platforms should take this into consideration and improve their recommendation services on a local basis. »

1 million will make the difference?

French-speaking Quebec music hardly stands out on streaming platforms. There are very few – often no – titles in French among the 100 songs listened to in Quebec and music from here is often collected in playlists without meaning. ADISQ therefore welcomes the investment of 1 million announced by the Quebec government to support Meta Musique, whose mission is to promote better “labeling” of Quebec music with the aim of promoting its influence. Eve Paré, general director of ADISQ, speaks of it as a necessary “discoverability tool”. Promoting local music must also go through the education system, a greater presence in public spaces, better marketing and financial support, according to her. “We have small businesses that do not have the means to compete with multinationals,” she insists.

Outcry against Canadian law?

Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, blocked the sharing of Canadian journalistic content after the adoption of a law which aims in particular to force the company to pay a royalty to local media for the use of their work. Could this gesture give ideas to the AppleMusic and Spotify of this world, while the revision of the Broadcasting Act provides for measures to highlight Canadian and Quebec music, as well as the payment of a contribution to local musical production? “There’s a lot of people fighting,” admits Eve Paré, “but no one is threatening to withdraw. » Jean-Robert Bisaillon underlines that the distribution platforms know that they are part of a “music distribution ecosystem” and considers a reaction as drastic as that of Meta unlikely, an analysis shared by SOCAN and the ‘ADISQ.

Which platform pays artists the best?

The majority of music streaming platforms have a reputation for poorly paying rights holders. Tidal, for its part, boasts of paying artists better. This is confirmed by the members of FELIN, according to Céline Lepage. “There are not many people who are capable of dissecting [le système de redevances] to say who pays the best,” says Jean-Robert Bisaillon. The lack of transparency of the platforms, the complexity of the calculations, the absence of information about private agreements occurring at different stages make the calculation almost impossible. “Bandcamp is an interesting proposition for musicians, if they are able to attract their audience there,” specifies Jean-Robert Bisaillon, emphasizing that artists can be heard there, sell their music and even derivative products. As a user, in the absence of reliable information, all you have to do is choose the service that best suits your needs.