The Sweden-based music-streaming service Spotify has come under fire from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors, a group representing 2,000 songwriters. According to BASCA, payments to artists have been extremely low. The Guardian says that even though Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face†is one of the most popular songs on Spotify, she earned only $167 from the site over five months. Even still, it may be in the best interests of artists and labels to bear with this messy situation as the start-up finds its footing and builds an audience. After all, Spotify is one of the record industry’s best attempts at giving customers a legit service that comes close to the ease of illegal downloading, and if it gets nipped in the bud before it catches on with enough users, the major labels may totally miss their last chance to realistically compete against piracy. At the rate the record business is deteriorating, chump change may be better than nothing at all.
Spotify slammed by songwriters [Guardian UK]