Cradle of Filth frontman, Dani Filth, has expressed his dissatisfaction with the music streaming service Spotify, labeling it as “the biggest criminals in the world.” In his Rock Hard Greece interview seen and transcribed on Blabbermouth, he communicated his discontent with the low royalties paid out to artists and highlighted the platform’s unfair revenue distribution.

Filth expressed frustration at having to depend on streaming services like Spotify for exposure while receiving very little remuneration in return. He stressed that musicians who manage to gain fame through these platforms still do not earn a fair share from revenues generated.

Filth claimed that for many musicians, this financial arrangement limits their ability to support themselves solely through their creative efforts. He states how this was compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which also halted traditional income methods like merch sales, live performances, and touring due to a rise in expenses and taxes.

These statements followed a discussion where he states that while he uses Spotify to discover new music himself, the platform is far from supporting musicians fairly. Filth contended that streaming has replaced physical album sales and negatively impacted the income of many artists, making it so that many artists would release ‘limited edition’ vinyls to make up for this as collectors are the only ones who are often willing to buy them instead of streaming it for free.

Filth is not alone in his condemnation of Spotify and their treatment of artist royalties. As the music industry evolves and streaming continues to dominate, it is no surprise that his comments on the subject have caught the public’s attention.