Apple Music Jabs Spotify With Controversial Newsletter: Read the Full Statement

A recent newsletter dispensed by Apple Music has delivered a conspicuous jab at Spotify for the platform’s polarizing payment model. 

While the newsletter doesn’t directly mention Spotify by name, the parallels are easy to discern. The statement paints a striking picture about how Apple Music handles its payouts to artists and songwriters.

One of the major takeaways from Apple Music’s newsletter stems from the company’s assertion that they “do not ask anyone to accept a lower royalty rate in exchange for featuring.” This is a blatant attempt to twist the knife into Spotify’s contentious “Discovery Mode” algorithmic feature, which gives artists the option to have their music boosted by the platform’s algorithm in exchange for a lower royalty pay rate.

In October 2020 a coalition of musicians launched a robust campaign called “Justice at Spotify,” which called for the streaming giant to remit penny-per-stream payouts to the artists who distribute music on the platform.

The United Musicians and Allied Workers Union (UMAW) hasn’t backed down on their demands since, clashing with Spotify in their goal to provoke the company to make sweeping changes to their business model. The group eventually staged coordinated protests at Spotify’s offices around the world, mobilizing workers in 31 cities.

Check out Apple Music’s newsletter, obtained by EDM.com, verbatim below.

This update, which is part of a new series of newsletters, looks at how creators earn royalties from Apple Music and how these have grown over time.

We believe in the value of music and paying creators fairly for their work. Since we launched the iTunes Store in 2003, we have helped millions of artists and songwriters make a living from music. As the discussion about streaming royalties continues, we believe it is important to share our values. We believe in paying every creator the same rate, that a play has a value, and that creators should never have to pay for featuring.

We pay the same 52% headline rate to all labels.

While other services pay some independent labels a substantially lower rate than they pay major labels, we pay the same headline rate to all labels. This means artists can distribute music however they like, knowing Apple Music will pay the same rate. Sign with a label or stay independent; we believe in the value of all music.

We pay the same headline rate for all compositions.

Without songwriters, there wouldn’t be recordings. That is why we have paid every publisher and licensor the same headline rate within each country. It’s also why we have invested millions to optimize publishing operations to ensure songwriters are paid as quickly as possible.

Our average per play rate is $0.01.

While royalties from streaming services are calculated on a stream share basis, a play still has a value. This value varies by subscription plan and country but averaged $0.01 for Apple Music individual paid plans in 2020. This includes label and publisher royalties.

We do not pay a lower royalty rate in exchange for featuring.

Apple Music’s team of global tastemakers hand-curate 30,000 editorial playlists. These tastemakers select music based on merit and we do not ask anyone to accept a lower royalty rate in exchange for featuring. The same is true for Apple Music’s personalized playlists and algorithmic recommendations.

As a result of our commitment to these values, Apple Music paid out royalties for more than 5 million recording artists around the world in 2020, over 1 million more than in 2019. The number of recording artists whose catalogs generated recording and publishing royalties over $1 million per year increased over 120% since 2017, while the number of recording artists whose catalogs generated over $50,000 per year has more than doubled.

Like others, we have looked at alternative royalty models. Our analysis has shown that they would result in a limited redistribution of royalties with a varied impact to artists. Per play rates would cease to be the same for every play of a song. But more importantly, the changes would not increase what all creators earn from streaming. Instead, these changes would shift royalties towards a small number of labels while providing less transparency to creators everywhere.

At Apple Music, our focus remains on artists and songwriters and finding new and innovative ways for all creators to make a living from music. With Apple Music, music fans around the world enjoy an uninterrupted ad-free experience while knowing their data is kept private and used only to enhance the overall music experience for them.