June 28th | Artist Satisfaction, New Spotify Plan, AI Copyright Lawsuit

Welcome back to the Indie Insider newsletter, today is June 28th and I’m your host Calvin Windschitl. We have a couple of really interesting stories this week but first some housekeeping items.

Alright on to the news:

1) New Study Shows 7 in 10 European Musicians Are Unhappy with Streaming Revenue, Marking an Increase in Satisfaction Since 2022

A recent survey byInternational Artist Organisation - IAO, encompassing over 9,500 artists across 19 European countries, reveals that 69.1% of musicians are dissatisfied with the payments they receive from streaming services. Interestingly, this is an improvement from 2022, when a whopping 87% expressed dissatisfaction. The slight uptick in satisfaction is attributed to increased payouts from digital service providers (DSPs) and new EU regulations ensuring fairer payments to artists.

While the improvement is a positive sign, the fact that a significant majority of artists are still unhappy highlights the ongoing struggle for fair compensation in the streaming era. For independent artists, this dissatisfaction continues to underscore the importance of diversifying your income streams. Relying solely on streaming revenue is risky, so consider other avenues like licensing, brand partnerships, and merchandise. It’s interesting that this finding seems to fly in the face of the overall vibes and conversations that many are having at industry conferences. I’d love to see a version of this study replicated in the US and Worldwide.

The new EU regulations, such as the right to appropriate remuneration and contract adjustments, are steps in the right direction, but there seems to be a gap in education about them amongst artists and even many small indie labels. If you're an indie artist in Europe, it's crucial to stay informed about these rights and how they can benefit you. Knowledge is power, and understanding your entitlements can help you negotiate better deals and ensure fairer compensation for your hard work.

2) Spotify to Launch New Music-Only Basic Plan in Response to Industry Complaints About Bundling

Spotifyis introducing a new "Basic" plan at $10.99 per month, which focuses solely on music streaming, excluding audiobooks. This move comes after criticism formNational Music Publishers'​ Association,Sony Music Entertainment, and quite honestly the entire publishing industry, that bundling audiobooks with music negatively impacted songwriter compensation. Existing Premium subscribers will still have access to audiobooks, while new users can choose between the music-only Basic plan or the standard Premium plan that includes audiobooks for $11.99 per month.

This unbundling is a small win for musicians and songwriters who felt shortchanged by the previous model. Independent artists should see this as a positive step towards ensuring their music receives its fair share of revenue and signals that collective action and speaking up against streaming giants can create positive—albeit modest—improvements for the independent community.

However, the broader issue of fair compensation in bundled services remains top of mind for many of us in the industry. Users already on the premium plan will be grandfathered into a “bundled” service and research suggests that it’s unlikely that most subscribers will make a change to their monthly subscriptions. As the debate continues, indie artists and labels must continue advocating for fairness in streaming models. Consider joining trade groups if you can or speaking out in support of increased payment rates on social media.

That's it for this month's Indie Insider! I hope you found these updates as interesting as I did. As always, I'm here to connect and discuss these topics further. Feel free to reach out with your thoughts, questions, or just to chat.