Joe Satriani recently spoke to Metallerium for an interview and revealed his thoughts on the negative aspects of streaming services. According to the iconic guitarist, they favor music acts which already achieved success.
It has been long debated whether streaming services like Spotify are beneficial for musicians. In today’s world, fans’ primary source to listen to their favorite artists is streaming platforms, and most of them hardly buy any records. However, there are lots of artists who question the payment policies of these services.
Those opposed to streaming platforms argue that their payment policies are way lower than the necessary amount. For instance, Gene Simmons argued that streaming services don’t give young musicians a chance to pursue a music career due to their poor payment policies. The Who’s Roger Daltrey also claimed the same.
Moreover, Ted Nugent said that it is ridiculous people can come and listen to his songs for free, although he spent lots of money making them. In a previous interview, Dweezil Zappa also stated that small bands earn minimal money from streaming. Furthermore, Neil Young took a step forward and removed his music from Spotify.
Speaking to Metallerium, Joe Satriani also joined the debate and stated that the only downside of streaming is compensation, and it has always been challenging to get paid. According to Satriani, musicians still don’t make enough money, and streaming services favor people who have already had success. So, they don’t serve as a ‘big open door’ for new musicians.
During the conversation, Joe Satriani said the following about streaming services:
“I think the only downside has been what has been the downside ever since recorded music started being sold, which is compensation. It’s always difficult, it’s never been perfect, and perhaps, with digital technology, there’s the promise that we can better solve it than ever before. Because it was very difficult, let’s say in the ’60s, to get compensated.
Many things were hidden because there was no digital trail. It was all little scraps of paper, people making deals in back rooms, and when money went missing, it was gone forever. It’s a little bit harder to hide things these days because of digital transactions.“
He then continued:
“However, musicians still don’t get paid enough, and it’s still an extreme hardship that favors people who already had success. It’s easier for them, by a wide margin, to continue to dominate the marketplace. That makes it very difficult for beginners to get in. With the democratization of the playing field for musicians, streaming still favors people already there instead of being a big open door for newcomers. So, we basically just need to get paid more.”
You can watch the rest of the interview below.
