Spotify's "streamshare" method distributes subscription and ad revenue to artists via rights holders, with critics arguing it benefits major labels and high-streaming artists.

Spotify, a leading music streaming platform with 626M users and 246M subscribers, uses the "streamshare" method to distribute revenue from subscriptions and ads to artists. The platform pays rights holders, who then distribute earnings to artists per their contracts. Rights holders receive calculated payouts based on the total number of streams for their music in a market. Critics argue the system benefits major labels and artists with high streaming numbers, while some call for a "user-centric" model where royalties are paid directly to rights holders based on each user's streaming habits. Currently, artists receive small fractions of royalties, often seen as "penny fractions," which has led to concerns about the sustainability of careers in the streaming era for musicians.

August 30, 2024
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