Recent news revealed that Spotify’s CEO Daniel Ek has been investing heavily in military tech companies, which adds another ethical layer to a platform already criticized for how little it pays musicians !

Spotify only pays artists about $3–5 per 1,000 streams, using a pro-rata model that directs most money toward major stars… By contrast, Qobuz (≈$18–20 per 1,000 streams) and Tidal (≈$12–13) pay far more fairly!

However Tidal is far from ethical. Most of its revenue is controlled by private investors and founders and small artists still earn very little…

More fair-minded platforms like Bandcamp, Resonate, Ampled, or SoundCloud’s fan-powered royalties prioritize musicians over investors.

With these more ethical alternatives available, why do we keep using Spotify?

  • wetbeardhairs@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    9·
    3 days ago

    Integration is the big one. Spotify is built into nearly every smart device. Phone? Spotify. Smart speakers? Spotify. Alexa spy puck? Spotify. Cars? Spotify. Even my hifi system has built in spotify.

    I want to use different services. Right now I’m using Tidal, which is only integrated with my speakers and phone - not my car. Hell, they don’t even make a proper app for my computer.

      • Rooskie91@discuss.onlineEnglish
        2·
        3 days ago

        I recently switched to TIDAL as a stop gap to ahem other options, and I’m relatively pleased.

        My biggest gripe is it doesn’t let your search your playlists when adding songs on the phone app.

        It’s not the best option, but at least they pay artists a little more.

      • wetbeardhairs@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        1·
        3 days ago

        Apple definitely punishes you for using Tidal on CarPlay. It’s bullshit. Plug in your phone while listening to music and the app goes into limbo for 45 seconds while Apple Music decides it is in charge.