Taylor Swift’s Record Label Rejects Spotify Figures

Related stories

Taylor Swift’s record label has denied Spotify’s claims that the singer was “on track” to make $6m (£3.8m) a year from the music streaming service.

In fact, Swift earned $496,044 (£317,000) in the past 12 months for streams of her songs in the US, Big Machine CEO Scott Borchetta said.

Borchetta told Time magazine his label had made more from video streaming site Vevo than from Spotify.

Spotify hit back, saying Swift’s global earnings were closer to $2m (£1.2m).

“The more we grow, the more we pay artists, and we’re growing like crazy,” Spotify’s global head of communications Jonathan Prince said.

The argument between Swift and Spotify has escalated since she pulled her back catalogue from the service, just as her new album 1989 hit the charts.

“I’m not willing to contribute my life’s work to an experiment that I don’t feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists, and creators of this music,” she told Yahoo Music.

“I just don’t agree with perpetuating the perception that music has no value and should be free.”

Taylor SwiftDaniel Ek pitches Spotify as a more lucrative alternative to piracy

On Tuesday, Spotify’s chief executive defended its business model, saying it had paid $2bn (£1.2bn) to the music industry to date.

“Taylor Swift is absolutely right: music is art, art has real value, and artists deserve to be paid for it,” Ek wrote in a blog.

Read also: Majek Fashek: Flags Fly At Half Mast At COSON As Reggae Legend Goes Home

He argued that Spotify protected artists against illegal downloading, writing: “Piracy doesn’t pay artists a penny – nothing, zilch, zero.

“And sure enough, if you looked at the top spot on the Pirate Bay last week, there was 1989.”

He added: “At our current size, payouts for a top artist like Taylor Swift (before she pulled her catalogue) are on track to exceed $6m a year, and that’s only growing – we expect that number to double again in a year.”

But Borchetta refuted those figures, saying the decision to remove Swift’s music from the service was making a larger point.

“The facts show that the music industry was much better off before Spotify hit these shores,” he told Time.

“Don’t forget this is for the most successful artist in music today. What about the rest of the artists out there struggling to make a career? Over the last year, what Spotify has paid is the equivalent of less than 50,000 albums sold.”

Swift’s decision may be partly responsible for her stellar record sales in the US, where 1989 has been number one for the last two weeks, shifting 1.68 million copies.

The record’s first-week sales of 1.28 million were the highest for a single week since 2002, when Eminem’s The Eminem Show sold 1.32 million.

Swift also became the only act to have three albums to have sold more than a million copies in a single week, after Red in 2012 (1.21 million) and Speak Now in 2010 (1.05 million).

The album also went to number one in the UK, selling 90,000 copies.

The pop star is not the first artist to tussle with Spotify. Last year, Thom Yorke removed his solo recordings from the service in protest at its payouts.

But the altercation with Swift comes at a sensitive time for the Swedish company, with Google having just unveiled a rival YouTube subscription service that allows users to stream ad-free music videos and download them for offline use.

Hamilton Nwosa
Hamilton Nwosa
Hamilton Nwosa is an experienced, and committed communication, business, administrative, data and research specialist . His deep knowledge of the intersection between communication, business, data, and journalism are quite profound. His passion for professional excellence remains the guiding principle of his work, and in the course of his career spanning sectors such as administration, tourism, business management, communication and journalism, Hamilton has won key awards. He is a delightful writer, researcher and data analyst. He loves team-work, problem-solving, organizational management, communication strategy, and enjoys travelling. He can be reached at: hamilton_68@yahoo.com

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

[tds_leads input_placeholder="Your email address" btn_horiz_align="content-horiz-center" pp_msg="SSd2ZSUyMHJlYWQlMjBhbmQlMjBhY2NlcHQlMjB0aGUlMjAlM0NhJTIwaHJlZiUzRCUyMiUyMyUyMiUzRVByaXZhY3klMjBQb2xpY3klM0MlMkZhJTNFLg==" pp_checkbox="yes" tdc_css="eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLXRvcCI6IjMwIiwibWFyZ2luLWJvdHRvbSI6IjQwIiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiJ9LCJwb3J0cmFpdCI6eyJtYXJnaW4tdG9wIjoiMTUiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMjUiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sInBvcnRyYWl0X21heF93aWR0aCI6MTAxOCwicG9ydHJhaXRfbWluX3dpZHRoIjo3NjgsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6eyJtYXJnaW4tdG9wIjoiMjAiLCJtYXJnaW4tYm90dG9tIjoiMzAiLCJkaXNwbGF5IjoiIn0sImxhbmRzY2FwZV9tYXhfd2lkdGgiOjExNDAsImxhbmRzY2FwZV9taW5fd2lkdGgiOjEwMTksInBob25lIjp7Im1hcmdpbi10b3AiOiIyMCIsImRpc3BsYXkiOiIifSwicGhvbmVfbWF4X3dpZHRoIjo3Njd9" display="column" gap="eyJhbGwiOiIyMCIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTAiLCJsYW5kc2NhcGUiOiIxNSJ9" f_msg_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_input_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_btn_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_pp_font_family="downtown-serif-font_global" f_pp_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxNSIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTEifQ==" f_btn_font_weight="700" f_btn_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTEifQ==" f_btn_font_transform="uppercase" btn_text="Unlock All" btn_bg="#000000" btn_padd="eyJhbGwiOiIxOCIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjE0IiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxNCJ9" input_padd="eyJhbGwiOiIxNSIsImxhbmRzY2FwZSI6IjEyIiwicG9ydHJhaXQiOiIxMCJ9" pp_check_color_a="#000000" f_pp_font_weight="600" pp_check_square="#000000" msg_composer="" pp_check_color="rgba(0,0,0,0.56)" msg_succ_radius="0" msg_err_radius="0" input_border="1" f_unsub_font_family="downtown-sans-serif-font_global" f_msg_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxMyIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTIifQ==" f_input_font_size="eyJhbGwiOiIxNCIsInBvcnRyYWl0IjoiMTIifQ==" f_input_font_weight="500" f_msg_font_weight="500" f_unsub_font_weight="500"]

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
[Photos] Wike, Fubara, Amaewhule Reunite at Burial in Rivers, Signaling Peace After Tinubu’s MediationFLASH BACK: How Aminu Dantata, Dangote's Great Uncle, Wished For Death Almost 3 Years Ago[VIDEO] Wike, Fubara: Wike supporters mocking FubaraTrump’s Confusing Message About Iranian OilTrump says he’s terminating trade talks with Canada over tax on tech firmsList of Top 5 Countries That No Longer ExistMonday Okpebholo, Ifeanyi Uba's Seats: INEC Unveils Timetable for Bye-Elections as Voter Registration Resumes August 18Tears as Legendary Nigerian Tycoon Aminu Dantata, Dangote's Uncle Passes Away at 94Worsening Crisis: Saraki Predicts More Massive Defections from PDPINEC Unveils Timetable for Nationwide Bye-Elections as Voter Registration Resumes August 18How 2027 Intrigues, Power Play Ousted Ganduje as APC National ChairmanExclusive! Nigerians, Global bodies Demand Justice as Ogun Govt Stalls Estate Development, 9 Years after PaymentsNAPTIP Declares Speed Darlington Wanted for Rape, Cyberbullying AllegationsNNPCL Raises Alarm, Says Saboteurs Plot to Derail Corruption-Free OverhaulKenyan High Court Condemns Nnamdi Kanu’s Extradition to Nigeria as Unlawful
X whatsapp