Due to the increased need for social distancing and reduced number of paid live performance opportunities, many artists big and small are struggling to stay afloat during the global health crisis.
Not one to mince his words, fabled bass music producer Flux Pavilion recently took to Twitter to share how although millions of fans listen to his music, he receives little money from the streaming services that host it, such as Spotify. In a series of tweets, the dubstep icon called those streaming companies “shameless” and detailed his concerns about how difficult it is for artists to make money during the COVID-19-induced live music shutdown.
“It just dawned on me that I spend every day writing music and millions of you listen to it, but next to none of the money comes to me. I’m making a product that loads of people use but still struggling to make a living out of it,” Flux Pavilion wrote. “These streaming websites are shameless.”
Flux Pavilion followed up his initial tweet with a disclaimer noting that he understands some artists have it much worse than him. He then goes on to ask fans to try to support their favorites in other ways that more directly support his fellow artists. “Go buy something from your favourite artist and you will help them to write more music for you,” continued. “Without shows, writing music is unsustainable at the moment, this is what hurts.”
Interestingly enough, last week, it was revealed that the UK government is launching an investigation into streaming platforms’ economic impact on the music industry. Like Flux Pavilion, they too are questioning how the platforms decide the percentage of revenue that is shared with artists.
FOLLOW FLUX PAVILION:
Facebook: facebook.com/fluxpavilion
Twitter: twitter.com/Fluxpavilion
Instagram: instagram.com/fluxpavilion
Spotify: spoti.fi/2RCE6nO
