Vol 130: Revenue, Records, and Randy Rhoads
Vol 130: Revenue, Records, and Randy Rhoads
Spotify's Penny-Pinching Playlist Policy
Beginning in 2024, Spotify will implement a new royalty model where tracks must be played 1,000 times before they begin generating royalties.
This contentious move, expected to shift $40 million within the royalty pool, aims to demonetize tracks earning less than five cents per month, which often don't meet the minimum payout threshold for artists. Critics argue this could discourage emerging artists, though Spotify believes it actually corrects inefficiencies in the royalty distribution system.
The Playlist Payday
There was a fair number of questions about the royalty calculator I shared last week, but the questions were more about revenue than royalties. I’ll address some of that here, to provide some additional clarity.
Despite the turbulence + disruption faced by the music industry in the 2000s, today's revenue—primarily driven by streaming—dwarfs the zenith of the CD era (though, when accounting for inflation, the comparison isn't quite apples-to-apples).
The RIAA revenue tracker below illustrates this growth.
But amidst this surge, the song remains the same: streaming platforms, though lucrative in aggregate, often leave individual artists feeling short-changed. Here's the crux: the overall industry revenue is on the rise, but when we zoom in on earnings per artist, the picture isn't as rosy. With more artists in the mix than ever, thanks to the explosion of accessible music creation, the per-artist slice of the pie seems to shrink.
Consider the mechanics of artist payments, which aren't based on a strict per-stream calculation. Instead, imagine a collective pot earmarked for artists, filled by streaming services through agreements with labels. How this pot is divvied up depends on each artist's proportion of total streams. For instance:
Spotify's revenue pot is $1,000,000.
Record labels claim 60% of this pot.
Taylor Swift nets 1% of all Spotify streams.
Following this formula, Swift would pocket $1,000,000 × 60% × 1% = $6,000. It's important to note that it's not the sheer volume of streams that matter most but the artist's share relative to the total stream count.
This revenue model leads us to some non-obvious conclusions. For example, a lower per-stream rate might actually signal better earnings for artists if it's tied to a broader revenue base—more streams can mean more money in the pot, even if each individual stream seems to pay less. Let's contrast Spotify, with its ad-supported tier, and Apple, which doesn't have one. Even with a lower per-stream rate, Spotify could end up paying artists more overall due to the additional total revenue from ads.
An artist's financial success hinges not just on their music's popularity but also on their understanding of these streaming nuances. Which is easy when you’ve got a team or machine behind you, but for emerging artists, navigating this landscape requires a astute sense of their art and the arithmetic of the industry.
Hey! Wait! I got a new complaint.
Another day, another friend, family member, or jilted ex-husband is selling a piece of Kurt Cobain’s legacy. Whether it’s the acoustic guitar and cardigan from the Unplugged session, or the Teen Spirit guitar, it’s mind boggling to see items that should remain with his estate be sold to the highest bidder.
This week, Kurt’s brother has decided to trade on that legacy.
The memory that I'll always have of Kurt onstage, or just Kurt in general, is him at the MTV Live and Loud concert in Seattle, I was at that show and he's holding that specific guitar and even before I was gifted this guitar by Courtney, it was always in my memory. And then when she handed it to me, I was like: 'I know that guitar.'
-Chad Cobain
In a rare moment of unselfishness, Courtney Love gave that guitar to Chad after Kurt passed away. And what better way to honor that gesture and the guitar that means so much to you than sell it to a stranger!
Also up for auction are items Kurt’s roommate at Exodus Recovery Center stole looted pilfered preserved after he escaped. They include a pair of jeans featured in many videos, photo shoots, and concerts.
There’s a bunch of arguably cool items up for auction, but seeing these specific things there seems very gross and very wrong.
INTERMISSION
Fools and Prophets from the Past
The Osbourne’s Podcast is mostly forgettable, but some interesting tidbits have surfaced and largely ignored in the music world.
Last week, the press focused on Sharon’s reasons why Ozzfest came to an end:
They buried the lede!
Here’s the good stuff:
"Years and years ago, one of the bands wouldn't go on stage until I agreed to give them 10,000 more dollars. And they were holding everything up, and I said, 'Of course, of course I'll give it you.'"
—Sharon Osbourne, The Osbourne’s Podcast, Episode 8
Pressed by Jack Osbourne to name the act in question, Sharon said "Glenn Danzig", to which Jack replied: "Why are you gonna protect that twat?"
Sharon went on to say that she "didn't give them the money" that they were demanding. "They went on and played, and I went, 'Fuck you. You signed a contract, your agent agreed it, and you're just gouging.'"
The other info revealed was that Ozzy is sitting on seven hours of Randy Rhoads’ demos:
The family discussed former Ozzy bassist Bob Daisley’s ‘Holy Grail’ demos – said to document some seven hours of sessions with Randy Rhoads.
Jack Osbourne: “There's audio recordings of Randy, Dad and Daisley writing stuff for Blizzard… and Diary… and Daisley's gone out and said, ‘Oh Ozzy’s not letting me release it.’
“I turned around and said, ‘Why should he release it? He should give it to Randy's family and it should be up to them if they release it or not.’”
Sharon Osbourne: “Exactly.”
Which is all well and good, but they’ve never turned the demos over to Randy’s family. In 2014, Daisley played snippets for Randy’s brother, who then said they should be released.
Ozzy chimed in: “The quality sucks, he’d record everything we ever did. He would record the fucking milkman… The quality was fucking dreadful.”
Lest we forget about a recording released last week that had previously also been deemed dreadful.
Taylor Swift Sold Half of All Albums Sold Last Week
Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, selling a whopping 1.359 million copies in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 2.
That marks the biggest sales week of 2023, the largest sales week of any album since 2015, and the sixth-biggest sales week for an album since Luminate (Soundscan) began electronically tracking sales in 1991.
The first-week sales of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) were so large, they accounted for 43.8% of all albums sold in the U.S.
Focusing just on the physical copies of the album Swift sold, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) sold 1.261 million copies – representing 46.9% of all physical album sales last week.
The sales were enhanced by 15 collectible physical formats: five color vinyl variants, eight CD editions and two cassette editions.
So far in 2023, Swift’s catalog of albums, across all of her titles, have sold 4.531 million copies – which accounts for 5.4% of all albums sold this year by all artists combined (83.758 million sold year to date). Swift is by far the year’s top-selling act by total album sales. Her collected albums have sold six times more than the year’s No. 2-selling act, Stray Kids, with 753,000 sold.
Fun in the Sun
This is undeniably a jam-packed bill with a deep and wide range of acts.
Lots of unexpected surprises here, but it’s especially great to see L7 included in the festivities. Kudos to the DWP team.
JOBS!
💼 Principal Content & Editorial Manager - Sonos - California, Tennessee - Ideal candidates should have strong editorial judgment and experience building cohesive narratives across content formats. Preference goes to candidates with experience in content programming, development and/or production in the audio or music space. Apply here.
💼 Communications Coordinator - SoundCloud - New York City - Applicants must have 2 years of communications experience, either in-house or agency— those with experience in Music, Entertainment, or Tech are preferred. Apply here.
💼 Personal Assistant, Music - Career Staffing Talent - Los Angeles - Prior PA experience working with artists or individuals in the music industry is required. Basic photography, editing, and social media skills are a plus. Apply here as soon as possible (interviews take place throughout November).
💼 Label Coordinator, Lowly - Create Music Group (Lowly) - Los Angeles - Lowly is an independent record label that was recently brought into the fold under Create Music Group. They are looking for an applicant with 2+ years of experience in entertainment, 1+ year of administrative experience, and skills in digital setup, marketing tools, and project management. Apply here.
💼 Social Media Specialist - Fender Music Instruments - Remote or Hybrid (Los Angeles) - Ideal applicants will have a minimum of 2-4 years of experience in social media/content production, proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite, experience with social media management tools, and guitar knowledge. Apply here.
THE NEWS DESK
🎒 Sweden to ban ALL bags at concerts and sporting events
Police said the ban comes after Sweden had become a “prioritized target for violent extremists” after the Oct 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, and a disinformation campaign alleging Sweden’s social services kidnap Muslim children.
📱SiriusXM announced a new logo, streaming app, and push into audiobooks.
Their new streaming app launching December 14 will cost $9.99/month, and is “aimed at welcoming in a new generation of SiriusXM listeners.”
In another attempt to take on a well-know music streaming and audiobook app as of today (Spotify), SiriusXM teased a collaboration with audiobook platform Audible which will reportedly arrive in early 2024.
Here’s a look at the the rather underwhelming new logo.
🎶 The Sphere in Vegas generated $4.1M from its first two U2 concerts.
Sphere’s parent company announced two more residencies would take place in the $2.3B venue before July 2024. Any guesses?
💰 Sony posted $2.33BN in revenue from recorded music and publishing in Q3 (up 8.3% YoY).
Sales from physical music were down 18.1% YoY.
👕 Spotify launches its first 'Capsule Collection' of artist merch
Each week, a new artist will drop a curated selection of limited-edition items ranging from apparel to some less-conventional items.
Top fans of each of the artists will have the first chance to shop the drops via Spotify’s Fans First program, which helps artists identify and reward their biggest fans on the platform with special offers.
🤖 Kaiber’s new app helps artists create music videos using generative AI tools
Kaiber allows users to either upload images/videos or type in their own ideas to generate animated content.
There are two types of animation style—”Flipbook,” a frame-by-frame effect, or “Motion,” a fluid style where content smoothly transitions between frames.
Users can describe how they want the video to look or select from pre-prompted subjects and styles.
😥 Amazon announced layoffs to their Music team.
