Me, shrieking over getting no airplay Here is the thing; back in the old days radio was a major part of how people consumed music.
We were, up to a point, slaves to the radio as listeners and especially as artists desperately seeking to be noticed (with all due respect to club DJs). Getting played on commercial radio was not something that happened with any frequency for underground bands. Most stations had playlists and those playlists eschewed small artists for big label bands. The only outlets for the little guys was college radio, community radio or overseas radio. Some days it seemed like everyone in France had their own radio show. These latter options paid very little, if anything (more on this below).
Regardless, the pay for getting played on the radio only kicked in, in any meaningful way, for artists who were HUGE. Part of this was their lock down on commercial radio but it was also how payment was determined. They did a sampling of what was playing and extrapolated. If you got played thousands of times a day? You were more likely to get a check.
Smaller artists literally made PENNIES for this play because in addition to commercial radio being ALL about major labels, college radio paid less into the Performing Rights Organizations. Frankly? The trade off for exposure was usually minimal. In 1996 I could count the college radio stations that actually meant anything on one hand. O.K., maybe two hands but barely.
Why do I bring all this up?
Because streaming is now what radio was then--except it offers artists an opportunity to direct people TO their music and to direct people to their music from all over the world. The pay is shit but I assure you getting $3 to $5 for 1000 plays (Spotify) is better than getting nothing for three plays at a radio station that broadcasts to the dorms at a small liberal arts college.
We were, up to a point, slaves to the radio as listeners and especially as artists desperately seeking to be noticed (with all due respect to club DJs). Getting played on commercial radio was not something that happened with any frequency for underground bands. Most stations had playlists and those playlists eschewed small artists for big label bands. The only outlets for the little guys was college radio, community radio or overseas radio. Some days it seemed like everyone in France had their own radio show. These latter options paid very little, if anything (more on this below).
Regardless, the pay for getting played on the radio only kicked in, in any meaningful way, for artists who were HUGE. Part of this was their lock down on commercial radio but it was also how payment was determined. They did a sampling of what was playing and extrapolated. If you got played thousands of times a day? You were more likely to get a check.
Smaller artists literally made PENNIES for this play because in addition to commercial radio being ALL about major labels, college radio paid less into the Performing Rights Organizations. Frankly? The trade off for exposure was usually minimal. In 1996 I could count the college radio stations that actually meant anything on one hand. O.K., maybe two hands but barely.
Why do I bring all this up?
Because streaming is now what radio was then--except it offers artists an opportunity to direct people TO their music and to direct people to their music from all over the world. The pay is shit but I assure you getting $3 to $5 for 1000 plays (Spotify) is better than getting nothing for three plays at a radio station that broadcasts to the dorms at a small liberal arts college.
An example of a record that got NO fucking commercial radio airplay
As the math whiz types among you may note; Spotify pays about 0.003 to 0.005 cents per play. Commercial radio pays 9.1 cents. Sounds like a great deal. It is if you are Bruce Springsteen but, as noted, small artists rarely if ever get played on commercial radio. When a "local" gets played it is on some "locals" show at 3 am. Since you do NOT get paid for every play but, as mentioned, but via a sampling by the Performing Rights Organizations (mostly BMI and ASCAP), small artists should not be waiting by their mailbox for a check.
For all the people "standing up for the artists," I would also point out that Spotify has an option where listeners can DONATE to the artist. The next time I hear of anyone actually doing this will be the first time. No one does it because folks only pay lip service to giving a shit. Then there are all the people who proudly say they only stream on Bandcamp. Bandcamp pays NOTHING for streams. Not a penny. They are, however, an artist friendly site for downloads and they cost nothing for an artist to set up. Yet there is that nagging, no pay for streams thing. No one seems to know this either.
There are some oddities in reporting plays with some streaming services that I haven't had explained to me. How does a song go from more than a 1000 listens to much less than that? This may be some quantum thing beyond my understanding. I am looking into this and when I get an answer? I will post it as a comment here.
Now, let's talk about those fractions of a cent.
They can add up for artists who have a large underground following. You are not going to retire to the South of France on the cash. But if you have a track that gets 20,000 listens on Spotify? That is between $60 and $100. NOW, if you are getting that on Spotify you are likely getting played on Amazon, Apple Music, Pandora, Tidal and others. Sam Rosenthal told me that 84 to 98 % of artist payments from Projekt Records came from streaming.
You may say "Smaller artists never get 20,000 many plays!" Lycia, a former "label mate" of mine, have a song , A Failure, that has over 800,000 listens on Spotify (this info is public, I am betraying no trade secrets). Lycia, in fact, has eight songs with over 50,000 listens. Black tape for a blue girl, Rosenthal's band, has a song, Dulcinea, that has well over 200,000 listens.
My most listened to song is only in the 50,000 range. It is a cover of Body Count's Cop Killer.
My next rant? Will be about how that song came to be. It is an interesting and, to me, a bit of an enraging story even after 27 years!
For all the people "standing up for the artists," I would also point out that Spotify has an option where listeners can DONATE to the artist. The next time I hear of anyone actually doing this will be the first time. No one does it because folks only pay lip service to giving a shit. Then there are all the people who proudly say they only stream on Bandcamp. Bandcamp pays NOTHING for streams. Not a penny. They are, however, an artist friendly site for downloads and they cost nothing for an artist to set up. Yet there is that nagging, no pay for streams thing. No one seems to know this either.
There are some oddities in reporting plays with some streaming services that I haven't had explained to me. How does a song go from more than a 1000 listens to much less than that? This may be some quantum thing beyond my understanding. I am looking into this and when I get an answer? I will post it as a comment here.
Now, let's talk about those fractions of a cent.
They can add up for artists who have a large underground following. You are not going to retire to the South of France on the cash. But if you have a track that gets 20,000 listens on Spotify? That is between $60 and $100. NOW, if you are getting that on Spotify you are likely getting played on Amazon, Apple Music, Pandora, Tidal and others. Sam Rosenthal told me that 84 to 98 % of artist payments from Projekt Records came from streaming.
You may say "Smaller artists never get 20,000 many plays!" Lycia, a former "label mate" of mine, have a song , A Failure, that has over 800,000 listens on Spotify (this info is public, I am betraying no trade secrets). Lycia, in fact, has eight songs with over 50,000 listens. Black tape for a blue girl, Rosenthal's band, has a song, Dulcinea, that has well over 200,000 listens.
My most listened to song is only in the 50,000 range. It is a cover of Body Count's Cop Killer.
My next rant? Will be about how that song came to be. It is an interesting and, to me, a bit of an enraging story even after 27 years!
Another example of a record that got no fucking commercial radio airplay
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