Universal se queja de que le están robando la cartera, parece que hay "listos" que suben cualquier cosa a Spotify y demás plataformas de streaming, y con bots se dedican a reproducirlos, adjudicándose una parte de la tarta que reparte la plataforma:
Universal Music Group is in talks with
big streaming platforms to overhaul
the industry’s economics and direct
more money towards artists, according
to people familiar with the matter.
The shake-up, which stands to revolutionise
the way musicians make money,
comes as the world’s largest music company
is increasingly concerned about
the proliferation of songs on platforms
such as Spotify, where 100,000 new
tracks are being added each day.
The industry is also contending with
manipulation of the system, including
the use of bots to inflate listening figures
and the uploading of 31-second clips just
long enough to qualify as a “play”.
Michael Nash, chief digital officer,
said: “You have a quantity over quality
challenge right now. That’s making it
harder for new artists to establish themselves,
for new releases to come
through.” Many musicians say the current
system deprives them of the ability
to make a living, while the main labels
have complained about the growth of
“lower-quality” songs, such as ambient
sleep tracks, arguing they undermine
the experience for listeners and pull
money away from legitimate artists.
Universal controls more than 30 per
cent of the world’s music and has a stable
of artists including Drake and Taylor
Swift. It is already in talks with Tidal,
the streaming service founded by rapper
Jay-Z, about how to change the
streaming model, and is also in talks
with other big streaming services,
according to people close to the matter.
Spotify is “open to anything that
works for the entire industry”, said Paul
Vogel, its chief financial officer. “We’re
willing to make changes if that’s what all
artists, songwriters and rights holders
want to do . . . We’re open to having the
discussions and it’s an industry decision,
not just a Spotify decision.”
Tidal boss Jesse Dorogusker said:
“This partnership will enable us to
rethink how we can sustainably
improve royalties’ distribution for the
breadth of artists on our platform.”
Conversations are in the early stages,
but one strategy being examined is creating
a “bonus pool” of money for artists
who drive more value to platforms by
generating streams from new users.
Universal and Tidal are exploring
ways to measure fan engagement, such
as tracking the sharing of songs on social
media. Another option is to introduce a
superfan tier of streaming subscriptions
that would charge fans for extra perks.
In the first phase, Universal wants to
stamp out online bots. Beatdapp, a
start-up that identifies streaming fraud,
estimates about 10 per cent of all
streams on US platforms are fraudulent
