In Jamaica, many artists within the local music industry are currently grappling with the challenge of achieving viral success or securing deals with major record labels. This challenge has been further highlighted by Universal Music Group’s recent decision to remove its music catalogue from the popular social media platform TikTok. However, on a broader global scale, there’s a more pressing concern regarding the abundance of tracks being uploaded daily to various streaming platforms, with many of these tracks receiving minimal to no plays.
For the past year, leaders in the music industry have expressed growing unease over the sheer volume of tracks flooding streaming services. There are concerns that the current pro-rata royalty system employed by streaming platforms is diluting the earnings of professional and popular artists, as payments are dispersed among a plethora of low-quality tracks. Additionally, there’s a legitimate fear that high-quality artists may struggle to stand out amidst the deluge of new material. This apprehension intensified with reports indicating that an estimated 120,000 new tracks are being uploaded to streaming platforms every day.
These concerns have prompted leading streaming services, including Spotify, to adjust their policies. Starting from the first quarter of 2024, Spotify will no longer remunerate tracks that accumulate fewer than 1,000 plays within the prior 12 months. This shift towards an ‘artist-centric’ payment model, influenced by Universal Music Group’s strategy, reflects a broader industry trend towards prioritizing artists with substantial streaming numbers.
A recent report from market monitor Luminate sheds light on the staggering statistics. In 2023, a staggering 158.6 million tracks received 1,000 or fewer plays on audio streaming services, constituting 86.2% of the 184 million tracks measured. Alarmingly, 45.6 million tracks garnered zero plays, representing 24.8% of the available music catalogue. This revelation underscores the significant portion of the catalogue that remains largely ignored by listeners.
The proliferation of tracks on streaming platforms is evident in the exponential growth of the global audio-streaming ecosystem. Luminate’s data indicates a substantial increase in the total number of tracks available on streaming services, with 26 million more tracks counted in 2023 compared to 2022. This influx equates to roughly 2.17 million new tracks uploaded per month in 2023.
In response to this inundation, streaming services are adopting ‘artist-centric’ payment models to favour artists with higher stream counts. Deezer, for instance, introduced a payment system in France that rewards artists with a minimum number of streams and unique listeners. Following suit, Spotify announced changes to its payment model, requiring tracks to meet specific criteria for eligibility, including a minimum number of unique listeners.
Despite these adjustments, the issue of zero-play tracks persists. While the new payment models address low-play tracks, tracks with zero plays remain excluded from royalty payouts. This poses financial challenges for streaming services, as hosting an ever-expanding catalogue incurs substantial costs. Deezer’s approach to replacing non-performing tracks with its content reflects efforts to manage this growing catalogue.
