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Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, streaming platforms have become the standard in music listening. But which of the artists, record labels or these same platforms gets the biggest slice of the pie?
All it takes is a simple press of the thumb to listen to all our favorite music for around ten euros a month. These platforms represent 80% of music consumption, and generate 65% of the sector’s global revenues.
For the moment, the musicians do not really benefit from it. A French reggae group is present on all platforms. Their latest album has garnered millions of streams. “Over one year, we generated just over five million streams”says the saxophonist of Danakil. They brought in 18,000 euros to the record company, but only 10% goes to the artists. For a group of 11 people, they got away with 180 euros. “It does not allow to live”, continues the saxophonist. The main source of income for the group, as for others, are concerts.
Support French artists
Streaming platforms profit from subscriptions and advertising. The more an artist is listened to, the larger his share becomes and that of the others smaller. Nine out of ten artists would earn less than 1,000 euros per year on Spotify. Conversely, stars like Daft Punk collect tens of millions each year.
How to move towards a fairer system? Senator Julien Bargeton proposes to tax platforms at 1.75%, to obtain 20 million euros to support French artists. “This will allow them to be better discovered, to pay more for tours in the United States”, he says. The proposal is supported by a large part of the music unions.