Episode #2
A series on Spotify set for 2022 produced by Netflix.
The series shows the other side of the coin with respect to digital platforms. The immense challenges Spotify had in bringing artists and their music forward. We all know the lawsuits against Spotify and the non-conformities of royalties, but nobody knows the other side.
Artists initially lost everything to piracy. No one was willing to pay again to listen to anyone's music. Records were bought on the street, people shared files on the internet for free through "peer to peer" pages, and much more. Then platforms like Spotify are born that offer users music for free (the way they like it) but with subtle advertising interruptions to be able to raise funds and pay authors, even if it means insignificant amounts of money.
The unthinkable: Getting the library and catalog of a record label to enter the world of streaming with official licenses meant insurmountable efforts, ensuring that it is the only way out to combat piracy. Between stage 1 and 2 the artist received nothing and then received little, but received.
The artists began to organize against the platforms because in some cases there were irregularities: for example, Metallic found that they paid less reproductions than they actually had and then hired a company (AUDIAM) to be a kind of audit and so on. watch that their reproductions are well accounted for. In other cases, the artists only joined the protest because of the small amount they received from the platforms.
It is there when a third scenario begins to achieve better payments to the artists. An interruption campaign is started. Annoying interruptions in the transmissions of content with advertising, which does not allow users to enjoy. However, as many were already used to the platform, they preferred to pay for a premium plan so as not to have more interruptions.
At this historical point, it can be reflected that people had made the massive decision to pay to listen to music despite the fact that they pay it to remove advertising.
Ultimately in strategy, everyone feels better.
Spotify and the platforms have had a loss of prestige without balance, but at the end of the day they were the medium that eradicated piracy and that is the version that will be told in the new Netflix series by representing the history of Spotify, the stories of its founder Daniel Ek, and all the challenges.
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