The Streaming Effect: No One’s Getting Rich
This news isn’t going to come as a surprise to seasoned artists. The fact is that if you want to make money at what you do, you have to get out there in front of people. Touring is what pays the bills.
As convenient as streaming music is for DJs and … well … anyone who wants to listen to what they want when they want, streaming isn’t exactly profitable. You create new music and put it out there for people to buy. But, the cost of streaming songs is so minimal, and a certain percentage of the sale goes to the streaming companies, that there isn’t a whole lot left over for the artists.
Case in point – Lil Uzi Vert. He released his “XO Tour Llif3” which was streamed about 1.3 billion times. Even at one cent per stream, Uzi should be raking in the money. Apparently, that’s not the case. That song grossed about $4.5 million. The label will take its cut, and he’ll end up with about $900K.
Sure, that’s nothing to cry about. But, it makes me wonder where exactly all the rest of it goes. Also, if you’re not as popular as Uzi, but you’re still releasing songs, you’d definitely end up with a whole lot less.
Is allowing your music to be streamed worth it?
