Hi there,
Unless you've been under a rock this last 24hrs you will doubtless have seen the news of Spotify's latest test, in which the company will let labels push their way into personalised listening sessions as a promotional tool in return for reduced royalty rates.
I feel like Spotify - like so many things these days - is now just a hugely polarising topic. So it is no shock to see that the pro-Spotify people out there are welcoming this development, whilst the naysayers are using it as a stick to beat the company with.
Something I enjoyed about Music Ally's commentary on this (below) was the point that with many screaming "Payola!" about this new offering, it is likely to pop up on the radar of regulatory bodies and those perhaps already questioning whether the platform is a good thing for artists or not. Likewise, Apple, currently at loggerheads with Spotify, Epic and others about its App Store policies, might also use this somehow.
One point I have not seen mentioned so much is how Joe Public would respond to this. Knowing that their algorithm can be tweaked for a price might not come over well. Given this is only a test for now, it is tough to tell, though I'll be curious to see.
Elsewhere, the largest tech companies have been revealing their financials. Amazon's in particular is notable, with the company's revenues unsurprisingly surging due to lockdowns and Covid leaving many turning to the company's best-in-class delivery service for their shopping needs. Nonetheless, when reading these developments, one cannot help but think about Twitch and the fact that at present, there is no decent solution in place to pay rights holders. A sign of the times if ever there was one.
Have a great evening,
D.
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