Several artists such as Kanye West, Tyler, the Creator, Metro Boomin and more have come together to echo James Blake‘s recent statements about the music industry.
Blake took to social media to share his frustrations about the pay inequality between artists, record labels and streaming services, noting that it’s getting much harder for artists to make a living from their music. “If we want quality music somebody is gonna have to pay for it. Streaming services don’t pay properly, labels want a bigger cut than ever and just sit and wait for you to go viral, TikTok doesn’t pay properly, and touring is getting prohibitively expensive for most artists,” he tweeted. “The brainwashing worked and now people think music is free.”
He added, “Something I keep seeing is ‘if you’re lucky enough to go viral, just use the exposure to generate income some other way’. Musicians should be able to generate income via their music. Do you want good music or do you want what you paid for?”
Blake followed it up with another comment on Instagram, adding his thoughts on a number of posts originally made by Off Record Sounds. He explained that a number of factors, including the different slowed down/sped up versions of songs, the short attention span of audiences and musicians and the popularity of TikTok/Instagram Reels, enable this culture in music wherein fans only know parts of the same song because of its viral appeal. He continued, “I really love music. I will continue to use my social media but only to connect with you guys. Music is my life’s purpose and I will not have mine destroyed by a bunch of labels and tech companies who don’t even pay us and exploit us relentlessly.”
“Remember when my cover of ‘Godspeed’ went viral?” he asked. “Neither me nor Frank ever made a cent cause it was an ‘original sound’ in every video.”
Ye and Tyler both reposted Blake’s thoughts on Instagram in agreement, while the likes of Metro Boomin, BADBADNOTGOOD, Dev Hynes/Blood Orange, Erick the Architect, Shenseea, Vic Mensa, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic and Bas all concurred in the comments section. “They suggested for me to release the acapella, sped up, and slowed down versions of Creepin and I was like nooooo way lol,” Young Metro commented.
If we want quality music somebody is gonna have to pay for it. Streaming services don’t pay properly, labels want a bigger cut than ever and just sit and wait for you to go viral, TikTok doesn’t pay properly, and touring is getting prohibitively expensive for most artists.
— James Blake (@jamesblake) March 3, 2024
Something I keep seeing is ‘if you’re lucky enough to go viral, just use the exposure to generate income some other way’. Musicians should be able to generate income via their music.
Do you want good music or do you want what you paid for?
— James Blake (@jamesblake) March 3, 2024
The brainwashing worked and now people think music is free.
— James Blake (@jamesblake) March 3, 2024
