Here at Undertow, we love music and the people who make it. Supporting artists has been our full-time job for 30+ years. We sincerely believe music can change the world, help us get through the darkest times, and bring joy to those who listen.
You may have seen in the news recently, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has invested €600m Euros — nearly $700m USD — in Helsing, an AI military start-up of which he is now Chairman. Spotify is literally using money generated from artists’ work to create death and destruction in our world. And recently, Spotify has started taking money from their US subscribers to pay for ICE recruitment ads. Only solidifying the point that Spotify will take from anyone to uphold and perpetuate the military-industrial complex.
Let’s be clear: Spotify, their CEO, and shareholders have profited millions on the backs of unpaid and underpaid artists. At approximately $0.003-0.005 per stream, Spotify pays one of the worst streaming rates in the business.
In addition, they are allowing and platforming fully AI-generated music and bands like The Velvet Sundown. Over the years, they’ve pitted musicians against one another to compete for playlisting spots; but we’re now up against robots who do not need to pay rent or buy groceries, who will not fight for fair pay or workers’ rights.
This is just the tip of the iceberg on what’s wrong with Spotify. Want to learn more? A good place to start would be Liz Pelly’s book, “Mood Machine : The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist.” (We’re not affiliated with Liz or her publisher.)
Spotify’s business practices stand directly against our core values as artist advocates and caring human beings. We can’t continue being part of this unsustainable and morally corrupt platform.
We all know streaming is here to stay. But there are better options that pay artists much higher rates.
- BANDCAMP
85% royalty on download purchases, drops to 10% after $5k in sales
This is the preferred outlet for most independent artists. They don’t offer a dedicated streaming service. But artists can set the number of times a song can be listened to for free before you have to purchase the download. A very good balance between streaming and purchase in our opinion. You can download any quality between 320k MP3 up to the highest resolution files in multiple formats (FLAC, AIFF, WAV). - QOBUZ
Average of $0.018732 per stream
We love Qobuz for their high-quality streaming and ability to purchase high-resolution downloads. An audiophile’s dream! Their streaming rates are 6x better than Spotify. We’ve chatted with folks here, and they seem to be in for all the right reasons. They love music and want us to hear the best possible quality while paying artists the highest rate of any streaming service. - APPLE MUSIC
Average of $0.01 per stream
Yeah, we know this is one of the biggest capitalist corporations in the world. Plenty of things to dislike about Apple. But our experience with them on the artist side has been mostly positive. Their streaming rates are 3x better than Spotify. And the integration with iPhones and Macs is seamless. And the audio quality is pretty great. We use Apple Music in our office when we’re not playing vinyl, hi-rez downloads purchased from Bandcamp or Qobuz, or listening to KEXP (viva la John, Cheryl, and Larry!).
Thanks to our long-time friend, Laura Burehn, for helping us with these words and being a good and positive force in the world.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
1. Delete Spotify and move to a more equitable streaming service. See above.
2. If you’re an artist or an independent label, and you’re able, please consider taking your music off Spotify and focusing your promotion efforts elsewhere. We’re working with our artists and their labels to pull their music from Spotify as soon as possible. No negative judgment from us if you’re unable to remove your music. We know this is a complicated process in some situations due to contractual obligations and external entities who control distribution rights.
3. Support your favorite artists and independent labels directly whenever possible. Buy music and merch at shows, directly from the band’s website, Bandcamp, or their authorized merch store.
4. Support independent music businesses, like Undertow, who have a long and proven history of supporting artists. We’ve created these limited-edition shirts in order to raise awareness and generate funds to continue our mission of helping artists make music for all of us. Thank you.
We had to do it. Printed on high-quality heavy-weight Gildan Hammer shirts. Soft, comfy and thick! Now available for pre-order on the Undertow merch store.
Material: 100% Cotton
Shirt Brand: Gildan Hammer
Shirt color: Black
Print color: White
Inspired By: John & Yoko
Printed By: Ink Tank, Omaha NE