It’s now practically an annual tradition in the music world. Towards the end of November or early December, Spotify release their yearly data dumps to their artists, known simply as Spotify Wrapped. In addition to the information that appears on those little graphics, they also supply other snippets privately.
Some people choose to post them, others choose not to. Responses vary from “thanks so much to all of you listening this year” all the way to “I’ll enjoy the coffee I’ll be able to buy with the royalties” – and year after year, not much really changes. In many ways, it’s just the internet getting angry at Spotify all over again.
However, someone forgot to tell Marshall Jefferson – one of the producers from house music’s early days who continues to do pretty well – that it’s a risky practice attempting to be all nuanced and balanced online. Nonetheless, he tried doing that with this take…
Well, Ears To The House certainly can’t disagree with his point that artists being ripped off isn’t a new thing – but his next point is one likely to provoke more debate. Do DJs that post increased Spotify numbers really end up getting more gigs and more money for those gigs?
Opinion is divided on the subject – although one of our industry sources was happy to be more forthright. They told us “Of course the number of streams an artist gets is considered by a lot of clubs and festivals. Anyone telling you it’s not is plainly lying. The more gigs you get offered, the more you can charge. Marshall is basically correct on this.”
Whether those streams correlate with talent is even less clear…
