The company’s carefully-crafted transparency is part of a fightback against the perception it underpays artists – who receive between £0.002 and £0.0035 every time a song is streamed.
It is worth noting, however, that royalties distributed by Spotify don’t necessarily go directly to musicians, with record labels, distributors, publishers, managers and songwriters often taking a cut.
Meanwhile, several artists – including Massive Attack, Deerhoof and King Lizard and the Gizzard Wizard – have cut ties with Spotify in protest at the company’s ties to the defence company Helsing.
Daniel Ek, Spotify’s CEO and co-founder, was recently made chairman of the German tech company, which specialises in AI software integrated into fighter aircraft like its HX-2 AI Strike Drone.
Announcing their decision to delete their catalogue from Spotify, Massive Attack said: “The economic burden that has long been placed on artists is now compounded by a moral and ethical burden, whereby the hard-earned money of fans and the creative endeavours of musicians ultimately funds lethal, dystopian technologies.”
In response, a spokesperson clarified that Spotify and Helsing are “totally separate companies”.