Spotify: Difference between revisions

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'''[[Wikipedia:Spotify|Spotify]]''' is a global music-streaming service founded in 2006 in Sweden by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It allows users to stream music, podcasts, and other audio content via a freemium model, offering both free, ad-supported access and premium subscription services.

===Summary of ~~Anti~~-consumer practices===

==Summary of anti-consumer practices==

===~~=Car Thing=~~===

===Micro Payments per Stream===

*Label Retained Royalties:

::Spotify pays artists between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream, requiring approximately 4 million monthly streams to earn $1,160, which is equal to a month of the U.S. minimum wage. High profile artists like Taylor Swift and Thom Yorke withdrew music in protest.

*Policy Changes Harming Indies:

::70% of Spotify’s revenue goes to rights holders (e.g., record labels), but artists receive only 11% to 16% after the labels take their cuts. For example, Universal Music kept 73% of Spotify payouts.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Criticism of Spotify |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Spotify |website=Wikipedia}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The truth about Spotify |url=https://www.honest-broker.com/p/the-ugly-truth-about-spotify-is-finally}}</ref>

::Spotify stopped paying royalties in 2023 for tracks with less than 1,000 annual streams, and diverted the approximately $40 million per year to major labels. This disproportionately impacted emerging artists.

===Fake Artists and Playlist Manipulation===

*Perfect Fit Content (PFC) Program:

::An internal initiative to seed playlists with AI generated or low cost music (''e.g., ambient, jazz'') from Swedish producers. These tracks replaced human artists to reduce royalty payouts.<ref name=":2" />

*Fake Artist Networks:

::Investigators found 20 individuals operating under 500 aliases (''e.g., Trumpet Bumblefig, Vattio Bud'') generating millions of streams. One obscure Swedish jazz artist outperformed Grammy winning albums.<ref name=":2" />

*Consumer Deception:

::Employees admitted listeners <q>wouldn’t know the difference</q> between authentic and PFC tracks, degrading content quality.<ref name=":2" />

===Licensing Violations and Legal Battles===

*Unpaid Royalties:

::In 2017 Spotify faced a $1.6 billion lawsuit from Wixen Music Publishing for hosting 10,000+ unlicensed songs by artists like Tom Petty and Neil Young.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Spotify Under Fire |url=https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/spotify-under-fire-failing-properly-license-music--again |website=Recording Academy}}</ref>

*Repeated Non Compliance:

::Despite a 2015 pledge to fix <q>bad publishing data</q> Spotify’s $43 million settlement (2017) for unpaid mechanical licenses was deemed "inadequate" by industry groups.<ref name=":3" />

*Bundling Schemes:

::The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) condemned Spotify for bundling music with audiobooks to lower royalty rates, calling it "predatory".

===Privacy Violations and Data Misuse===

*Invasive Data Collection:

::In 2015, Spotify demanded access to users’ contacts, photos, and location via mobile apps, triggering backlash over disproportionate data harvesting.

*Pay-for-Play Allegations:

::Spotify was accused of taking payments from labels to prioritize songs in playlists, mimicking payola scandals without transparency.<ref name=":1" />

===Price Hikes and Subscription Exploitation===

*Forced Price Increases:

::Under pressure from record labels (''e.g., Universal Music''), Spotify raised U.S. prices by 31% for duo plans and 25% for family plans (2023–2024). Similar hikes occurred in 50+ markets.

*Label Profit Extraction:

::Labels pushed hikes under the guise of "artist fairness," yet retained most revenue. For example, Universal’s streaming revenue grew 8.9% year-over-year in 2024.

{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="5" border="3, solid, gray"

|-

|+Spotify Subcription Price Increase (2023-2024)

|-

! scope="col" style="text-align:left;" |Plan Type

! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" |Price Increase

! scope="col" style="text-align:right;" |Key Markets Affected

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |Premium Individual

! style="text-align:center;" |10%

! style="text-align:right;" |USA UK EU

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |Premium Duo

! style="text-align:center;" |31%

! style="text-align:right;" |Global

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |Premium Family

! style="text-align:center;" |25%

! style="text-align:right;" |50+ countries

|-

! scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |Student

! style="text-align:center;" |20%

! style="text-align:right;" |USA Australia

|}

----

===Genre Manipulation and Cultural Appropriation===

:Spotify invented vague algorithm-driven genres ''inspired by TikTok'' such as:

:*'''''Stomp and Holler'''''

:*'''''Escape Room'''''

:*'''''pov: indie'''''

----

===Systemic Exploitation===

:Despite recent profitability, Spotify relies heavily on price hikes, algorithmic manipulation and royalty suppression. These anti consumer practices come out of a profit-driven business model which prioritizes labels and shareholders over artists and listeners. The PFC program epitomizes Spotify's continued fight agianst musicians. Regulatory intervention—like the EU's antitrust actions—remains critical to force transparency and fairness.

----

===Car Thing===

In 2019, Spotify announced the Car Thing, a device marketed as a voice-controlled interface for selecting music and podcasts while driving.<ref>https://newsroom.spotify.com/2021-04-13/spotify-launches-our-newest-exploration-a-limited-release-of-car-thing-a-smart-player-for-your-car/</ref> The device was officially launched in the U.S. on February 22, 2022, it cost $89.99 and requires a Spotify Premium subscription plan along with a phone with a mobile data connection to be used.<ref>https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-02-22/car-thing-from-spotify-is-now-officially-available-in-the-u-s/</ref> On June 30, 2022, the device went on sale for $50. <ref>https://community.spotify.com/t5/Car-Thing/Summer-Sale-Special-89-99/td-p/5412050</ref> The company discontinued production of the device in July 27, 2022, citing low demand. A spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Based on several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues, we have decided to stop further production of Car Thing units. Existing devices will perform as intended." <ref>https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/27/spotify-exits-short-lived-car-thing-hardware-play-as-reports-q2-maus-of-433m-offsetting-russia-exit-and-service-outage/</ref> In August of 2022, Spotify further reduced the price to $30 in order to sell off all existing stock. <ref>https://www.androidpolice.com/spotify-car-thing-lowest-price-ever-get-one-still-can/</ref>

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==References==

[[Category:Spotify]]

[[Category:~~Mass media companies]]~~

~~[[Category:Music streaming services~~]]

@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 '''[[Wikipedia:Spotify|Spotify]]''' is a global music-streaming service founded in 2006 in Sweden by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It allows users to stream music, podcasts, and other audio content via a freemium model, offering both free, ad-supported access and premium subscription services.
-===Summary of Anti-consumer practices===
+==Summary of anti-consumer practices==
-====Car Thing====
+===Micro Payments per Stream===
+*Label Retained Royalties:
+::Spotify pays artists between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream, requiring approximately 4 million monthly streams to earn $1,160, which is equal to a month of the  U.S. minimum wage. High profile artists like Taylor Swift and Thom Yorke withdrew music in protest.
+*Policy Changes Harming Indies:
+::70% of Spotify’s revenue goes to rights holders (e.g., record labels), but artists receive only 11% to 16% after the labels take their cuts. For example, Universal Music kept 73% of Spotify payouts.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Criticism of Spotify |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Spotify |website=Wikipedia}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The truth about Spotify |url=https://www.honest-broker.com/p/the-ugly-truth-about-spotify-is-finally}}</ref>
+::Spotify stopped paying royalties in 2023 for tracks with less than 1,000 annual streams, and diverted the approximately $40 million per year to major labels. This disproportionately impacted emerging artists.
+===Fake Artists and Playlist Manipulation===
+*Perfect Fit Content (PFC) Program:
+::An internal initiative to seed playlists with AI generated or low cost music (''e.g., ambient, jazz'') from Swedish producers. These tracks replaced human artists to reduce royalty payouts.<ref name=":2" />
+*Fake Artist Networks:
+::Investigators found 20 individuals operating under 500 aliases (''e.g., Trumpet Bumblefig, Vattio Bud'') generating millions of streams. One obscure Swedish jazz artist outperformed Grammy winning albums.<ref name=":2" />
+*Consumer Deception:
+::Employees admitted listeners <q>wouldn’t know the difference</q> between authentic and PFC tracks, degrading content quality.<ref name=":2" />
+===Licensing Violations and Legal Battles===
+*Unpaid Royalties:
+::In 2017 Spotify faced a $1.6 billion lawsuit from Wixen Music Publishing for hosting 10,000+ unlicensed songs by artists like Tom Petty and Neil Young.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Spotify Under Fire |url=https://www.recordingacademy.com/advocacy/news/spotify-under-fire-failing-properly-license-music--again |website=Recording Academy}}</ref>
+*Repeated Non Compliance:
+::Despite a 2015 pledge to fix <q>bad publishing data</q> Spotify’s $43 million settlement (2017) for unpaid mechanical licenses was deemed "inadequate" by industry groups.<ref name=":3" />
+*Bundling Schemes:
+::The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) condemned Spotify for bundling music with audiobooks to lower royalty rates, calling it "predatory".
+===Privacy Violations and Data Misuse===
+*Invasive Data Collection:
+::In 2015, Spotify demanded access to users’ contacts, photos, and location via mobile apps, triggering backlash over disproportionate data harvesting.
+*Pay-for-Play Allegations:
+::Spotify was accused of taking payments from labels to prioritize songs in playlists, mimicking payola scandals without transparency.<ref name=":1" />
+===Price Hikes and Subscription Exploitation===
+*Forced Price Increases:
+::Under pressure from record labels (''e.g., Universal Music''), Spotify raised U.S. prices by 31% for duo plans and 25% for family plans (2023–2024). Similar hikes occurred in 50+ markets.
+*Label Profit Extraction:
+::Labels pushed hikes under the guise of "artist fairness," yet retained most revenue. For example, Universal’s streaming revenue grew 8.9% year-over-year in 2024.
+{| class="wikitable" cellpadding="5" border="3, solid, gray"
+|-
+|+Spotify Subcription Price Increase (2023-2024)
+|-
+! scope="col" style="text-align:left;" |Plan Type
+! scope="col" style="text-align:center;" |Price Increase
+! scope="col" style="text-align:right;" |Key Markets Affected
+|-
+! scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |Premium Individual
+! style="text-align:center;" |10%
+! style="text-align:right;" |USA UK EU
+|-
+! scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |Premium Duo
+! style="text-align:center;" |31%
+! style="text-align:right;" |Global
+|-
+! scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |Premium Family
+! style="text-align:center;" |25%
+! style="text-align:right;" |50+ countries
+|-
+! scope="row" style="text-align:left;" |Student
+! style="text-align:center;" |20%
+! style="text-align:right;" |USA Australia
+|}
+----
+===Genre Manipulation and Cultural Appropriation===
+:Spotify invented vague algorithm-driven genres ''inspired by TikTok'' such as:
+:*'''''Stomp and Holler'''''
+:*'''''Escape Room'''''
+:*'''''pov: indie'''''
+----
+===Systemic Exploitation===
+:Despite recent profitability, Spotify relies heavily on price hikes, algorithmic manipulation and royalty suppression. These anti consumer practices come out of a profit-driven business model which prioritizes labels and shareholders over artists and listeners. The PFC program epitomizes Spotify's continued fight agianst musicians. Regulatory intervention—like the EU's antitrust actions—remains critical to force transparency and fairness.
+----
+===Car Thing===
+{{Main|Spotify Car Thing}}
 In 2019, Spotify announced the Car Thing, a device marketed as a voice-controlled interface for selecting music and podcasts while driving.<ref>https://newsroom.spotify.com/2021-04-13/spotify-launches-our-newest-exploration-a-limited-release-of-car-thing-a-smart-player-for-your-car/</ref> The device was officially launched in the U.S. on February 22, 2022, it cost $89.99 and requires a Spotify Premium subscription plan along with a phone with a mobile data connection to be used.<ref>https://newsroom.spotify.com/2022-02-22/car-thing-from-spotify-is-now-officially-available-in-the-u-s/</ref> On June 30, 2022, the device went on sale for $50. <ref>https://community.spotify.com/t5/Car-Thing/Summer-Sale-Special-89-99/td-p/5412050</ref> The company discontinued production of the device in July 27, 2022, citing low demand. A spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Based on several factors, including product demand and supply chain issues, we have decided to stop further production of Car Thing units. Existing devices will perform as intended."  <ref>https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/27/spotify-exits-short-lived-car-thing-hardware-play-as-reports-q2-maus-of-433m-offsetting-russia-exit-and-service-outage/</ref> In August of 2022, Spotify further reduced the price to $30 in order to sell off all existing stock. <ref>https://www.androidpolice.com/spotify-car-thing-lowest-price-ever-get-one-still-can/</ref>
@@ Line 37: / Line 140: @@
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}
+[[Category:Spotify]]
-[[Category:Mass media companies]]
-[[Category:Music streaming services]]