During a new interview with The Times, Steve Lukather defended Spotify while other artists criticize it.
Toto’s success is partly because ‘Africa’ has been streamed over two billion times. This means they might not have the same pay issues as others. “I made an incredible deal with Spotify when it was two weeks old,” Lukather revealed.
The musician added, “But it’s not about the money, though everybody needs money. I’ve got four kids and two ex-wives, and the taxman takes 50 per cent. I’ll leave it at that.”
The Toto founder also said in 2023, “Spotify, I love. People hate Spotify, but I love Spotify. You know what? Because we negotiated a great new deal in terms of percentage eight or nine years ago. I first went to the management part, and we were trying to get our first album back to revision of everything from 1977. It was the 35-year-old or whatever.”
On the other hand, Stryper’s Michael Sweet is upset with how Spotify treats musicians. He shared his thoughts about Spotify raising its subscription prices in the US for the second time last year. He stated, “Taking more from you yet still giving pennies to the bands that created the music.”
Carmine Appice also told Toilet Ov Hell in 2024 that he doesn’t like the music streaming model, where access is more important than owning music. He also advised listeners to buy music on iTunes instead of streaming on Spotify.
The drummer said of Cactus’s new album ‘Temple of Blues – Influences & Friends,’ “Keep pushing this album. That’s what we need. And keep telling people to buy it and don’t Spotify it. Buy it on iTunes. Buy it on Amazon. Because musicians get screwed on Spotify.”
“I will never, ever play a song on Spotify. If I want a song, I’ll buy it on iTunes. I did it already a few times. I heard a song — on YouTube, I heard it, and I said, ‘I’m gonna buy that.’ And I bought it. And I heard another one and I bought it,” Appice added.
He further noted, “That’s the way to do it, ’cause that keeps the musician alive and making money and working. Otherwise, the only way a musician can make any work or money is to tour and do touring and merchandise.”
Dee Snider also dislikes Spotify because he believes the owner disrespects artists and pays them poorly. Charlie Benante also revealed to The Irish Times that he feels streaming services like Spotify are unfair to artists, paying them little while offering music for free.
