1) Prince (The Artist) didn’t want his music on Spotify

Not everyone is Prince

2) Spotify was (supposedly) built to fix Piracy

Piracy isn’t an issue for artists as much as it is an issue for record labels who were losing their cut to the internet. Spotify therefore was built to help the record labels, not artists and not listeners. Their whole evolutionary existence, relies on telling artists how much $ artists are (supposedly) losing by not using their system.

3) Spotify’s inventor doesn’t upload his music to the platform but wants everyone to do so.

no skin-in-the-game. Doesn’t play music but rather video games. Somehow knows what success in music is while not playing music.

4) Spotify was not invented by the record labels.

Theailed in the music business, they crashed the plane. Why were the same pilots given a new plane.

5) Spotify trusts the labels to sort and edit the music on their platform.

Spotify doesn’t produce anything original. Their selection is edited by the labels. They are in the business of promoting the music in which they have signed contracts. They are in the business solely of promoting the music in which they have signed contracts.  

6) Spotify pays upfront for label music but asks non-signed artists to give them their music for free

If Spotify isn’t paying you for your product then you aren’t worth anything to them (See: Joe Rogan)

7) Spotify is involved in music industry fraud

The record labels earn an equity share from Spotify’s growth. Music uploaded to Spotify from independent artists, drives traffic and subscriptions, which in turn line the label’s pockets. That’s right, non-signed artists are propping up the labels. “If you see fraud and don’t yell fraud, you are a fraud.” NNT

8) Spotify (in 2014) didn’t want any artists to sign exclusive deals.

See: Beyonce & Taylor Swift. Spotify argued to the government that all music should be on all platforms, ubiquitous. They then signed a podcaster to an exclusive deal. Where did Spotify get 100million to give Joe Rogan? from Music of course.

9) Discount licensing, prime playlist placement, etc.

The labels give discounts on songs placed all over the platform. The more spins/streams the cheaper rate for the music. Basically Payola all over again.

10) Spotify is a self-described Music Company that doesn’t make music.

People mistake customer satisfaction for a good business model. Spotify doesn’t produce original content.

11) ‘A real business should standalone, not be a part of some fund-raising scheme.’ Nassim Taleb

12) Spotify boasts a technology that connects the artist & the listener (direct-to-fan), allowing the listener to interact with the music. Except the closest transaction w/ music exists in Live not records.

a small minority, very few are able to do something with the data. They don’t exist inside Spotify.

13) Spotify is not in the Live Business. Musicians make the majority of their income from Live Performance. Musicians don’t rely on Spotify.

Spotify may work well for listeners but not for artists.

14) Does Spotify shadow-ban music?

This is how the majors stay in heavy rotation, by silencing independents. Spotify doesn’t have to take them down (ban), just set up a system where they’re not heard.

15) Spotify is partnered with the wrong side of music.

The music business prior to the internet could never tell who was listening to what song, when or where. There was no data on this transaction (with recordings). There has always been this data with a concert ticket.

16) Spotify is a Swedish company.

America’s #1 cultural export is music, why is Sweden at the helm of America’s music.

””the history of Spotify, where would you begin? https://www.fastcompany.com/90213545/exclusive-spotify-ceo-daniel-ek-on-apple-facebook-netflix-and-the-future-of-music

DK: I would start at pre-Spotify, what caused us to do this, the roots of Sweden. The first song, I guess it has to be something from ABBA. The culture and the context at Spotify are totally different than Silicon Valley.””