Weird Al Yankovic criticises artist payouts during ‘Spotify Wrapped’ video
The fee Spotify pays artists per stream is a topic commonly under contention. As Spotify Wrapped is revealed and artists record videos for their top fans, Weird Al Yankovic took it upon himself to send a message to the streaming giant.
Spotify Wrapped provides platform users with the chance to look back at the songs and artists they have listened to most throughout the year. The breakdowns are getting more and more detailed as people are now given their top artists, songs, genres and where in the world most represents their music taste.
Additionally, in 2023, users received a personal recorded message from the artist they spent the most time with. The majority of messages involved the artist thanking their fans for listening and saying they hope they enjoy what comes in 2024. Yankovic, a satirical master and no stranger to sarcasm, opted for a different approach.
He told fans: “It’s my understanding that I had over 80 million streams on Spotify this year, so, if I’m doing the math right that means I earned… $12.” He went on to say he was looking forward to buying himself a sandwich with the money.
Artists arguing for more of a cut of what Spotify make is nothing new. However, the Swedish company recently announced plans to introduce a new policy which will see songs with less than 1000 streams receive zero pay-out whatsoever.
It’s yet to be seen whether or not Yankovic’s message will in any way resonate with the streaming platform, who are yet to respond to his comments.
Watch Weird Al Yankovic’s video message below.
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