According to NME, Nine Inch Nails‘s Trent Reznor has spoken out against streaming service payouts by saying it has “mortally wounded” many artists. The musician made the comments during a recent GQ interview, where he took aim at companies such as Spotify and Apple Music for their payment terms: “I think the terrible payout of streaming services has mortally wounded a whole tier of artists that make being an artist unsustainable.”
Reznor continues with: “And it’s great if you’re Drake, and it’s not great if you’re Grizzly Bear. And the reality is: Take a look around. We’ve had enough time for the whole ‘All the boats rise’ argument to see they don’t all rise. Those boats rise. These boats don’t. They can’t make money in any means. And I think that’s bad for art.”
The artist also said he “thought maybe at Apple there could be influence to pay in a more fair or significant way, because a lot of these services are just a rounding error compared to what comes in elsewhere, unlike Spotify where their whole business is that.”
Reznor adds: “But that’s tied to a lot of other political things and label issues, and everyone’s trying to hold onto their little piece of the pie and it is what it is. I also realize, I think that people just want to turn the faucet on and have music come in. They’re not really concerned about all the romantic shit I thought mattered.”
The artist’s comments follows the news that Spotify has officially demonetized all tracks with less than 1,000 streams. The new policy came into effect on April 1, though the move has been planned by the platform for some time.
Photo credit: Raymond Flotat
Leave a Comment