A Fair Music Streaming Model is Possible

Spotify, Apple Music, Google/YouTube, Rhapsody, and the rest of the streaming services have officially taken control of the music industry. My last Medium article, “The Finger’s on the Self-Destruct Button: The Ugly Truth about Apple, Google, Spotify, and the Rest of the Music Streaming Universe” illustrated the issues musicians and indie labels are facing as they struggle to monetize their art in the brutally unfair, unwanted streaming construct that parasitic Big Music has established.

The other interesting thing that came out of the article is that despite unanimous support from the global musician community, there was bitter, scathing feedback from many entitled music consumers. They feel they deserve free or low-cost streaming. They believe it’s up to musicians and labels to adapt to the Big Music streaming paradigm because it’s just the way music distribution will be going forward, like it or not. Wrong.

Markus Reuter, the composer who co-runs the Iapetus label, dedicated to avant-rock and new music. “The public is unaware of the facts. When artists actually speak out, they’re being seen as whiny or greedy. The image of the happy-go-lucky musician who leads an enviable life is a lie that has been told by the mass media for many decades. It’s the breeding ground for the absurd corporate streaming business models Big Music is now selling to people.”

It’s time to create an alternate streaming environment focused on music of meaning for listeners of value. It’s time for artists and indie labels to work within an entirely new construct designed to benefit them, run by someone that has their best interests at heart. Some may call this elitist. I call it realistic. It’s a perspective motivated entirely by survival and creating a sustainable ecosystem for the long-term. Let Big Music stream McMusic to the McMasses. Listeners that care about the good stuff will go elsewhere —The bottom line with a fair streaming service, is yes, the bottom line for artists and labels. Quite simply, it has to pay more. How do we get there? One of the most expansive thinkers I’ve encountered on the topic is multi-instrumentalist Joe Mendelson of the experimental hip-hop act Rise Robots Rise and alternative rock band Quodia. With input from touch guitarist and composer Trey Gunn, who helms the avant-rock label 7d Media, Mendelson has come up with the following model for a fair streaming service, involving The first listen to all tracks is always free of charge. The second listen, and any listen thereafter, is paid for in one of the following ways, with the listener choosing to:

• Rent the track for one play for 10 cents, much like putting a dime in a jukebox.
• Buy the track for $1, which then makes it possible to both download it, as well as stream it forever at no additional cost.
• Stream the entire service’s catalog for a subscription fee, but at a much higher price point than Big Music — potentially $40–60 a month. Remember, the goal is to ensure the artists and labels get adequately paid. The $10 per-month charged by Apple Music and Spotify will never, ever lead to meaningful compensation for musicians.

Further, Mendelson’s streaming company vision involves it being set up as a B-corporation, which in the United States means a for-profit company intended to positively impact society. There would be no conventional stockholders or high-position owners involved who can sell the operation. The team supporting it would be small and agile. They would be paid decently, but there wouldn’t be a way for anyone to get rich. In other words, it would be run by true music lovers.

That’s a big ask, but it will be impossible for this new service to work unless a critical mass of important indie labels withdraw from Big Music streaming and commit to the new fair streaming service. Frankly, why wouldn’t they? They literally earn next-to-nothing from the mainstream services anyway. What does ubiquitous availability mean on a corporate streaming service when you will never, ever be able to monetize it in an even remotely beneficial way? One can think about this new service as the streaming equivalent of independent record stores — those amazing places you would go to find music no chain store would ever carry.

Big Music will call this proposal naive, idealistic and impossible. I assure you it is anything but. The seeds have been sown. The outrage is palpable amongst the musician and indie label community. Many listeners are starting to get it, too. These enlightened consumers understand musicians and labels are being backed into a corner. They know both will soon be unable to continue working within the Big Music system as it continues down its treacherous path.

You can comment on the Facebook page or Twitter account (hashtag #fairstreaming).

You can also contact Joe Mendelson at [email protected] or Trey Gunn at[email protected]

Anil Prasad offers further in-depth perspective on the history of streaming, including a deeper dive into the issues, in his keynote presentation “The Economic Reality of Streaming for musicians.”

Innerviews: Music Without Borders,Graphic by Jumpingsack. Used with permission.