{"id":4617,"date":"2022-04-05T18:16:17","date_gmt":"2022-04-05T18:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/05\/read-this-before-you-remove-your-music-from-streaming\/"},"modified":"2022-04-05T18:16:17","modified_gmt":"2022-04-05T18:16:17","slug":"read-this-before-you-remove-your-music-from-streaming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/05\/read-this-before-you-remove-your-music-from-streaming\/","title":{"rendered":"READ THIS Before You Remove Your Music from Streaming"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some famous legacy artists recently removed their music from Spotify. T<\/span>heir boycott generated a lot of media noise. <\/span><\/p>\n

Then some independent artists wanted to follow suit. <\/span><\/p>\n

B<\/span>ut should they?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

TLDR:<\/em> No, independent artists should NOT remove their music from streaming.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sure, CD Baby makes it easy for you to remove your music from any platform<\/a>; because ultimately, we want YOU to be in control of your own career. Ideally you know what\u2019s best for you and your audience.<\/p>\n

HOWEVER\u2026.<\/p>\n

Your decision should NOT be knee-jerk. <\/span>Many of the complaints that famous artists level against streaming platforms are regurgitated without all the facts. Like comparing apples and oranges. So before you think about removing your music, there are some important details you should understand. <\/span><\/p>\n

The first half of this article will discuss more conceptual questions. Then we\u2019ll dive into the MONEY and how current streaming economics may be fairer than casual critics assume. <\/span>My point throughout isn\u2019t to say everything\u2019s perfect, or even that we should acquiesce to the status quo. <\/span><\/p>\n

But I am suggesting the debate around streaming royalties is oversimplified<\/strong>. Blame feels misdirected. Scapegoats abound.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You may be punishing your fans<\/span><\/p>\n

If you only read one section of this article, read this:<\/p>\n

The last payout report CD Baby published<\/a> showed that more than 40% of our total streaming payments were driven by Spotify. <\/strong>Let\u2019s assume this average applies to YOUR music: If you remove your catalog from Spotify, you\u2019re inconveniencing nearly HALF of your audience.<\/p>\n

And worse, if you\u2019re a lesser-known act, you probably haven\u2019t made your music indispensable. To put that more simply: Your listeners won\u2019t follow you to another paid platform. I mean, I wouldn\u2019t even do that for some of my favorite artists.<\/p>\n

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