Trent Reznor claims streaming services have “mortally wounded” artists by failing to pay them a fair price for the use of their music.
The Nine Inch Nails frontman believes the payment scheme used by companies such as Spotify and Apple Music are unfairly weighted in favour of bigger stars and makes it very difficult for less famous musicians to make a living.
He told GQ magazine: “I think the terrible payout of streaming services has mortally wounded a whole tier of artists that make being an artist unsustainable.
“And it’s great if you’re Drake, and it’s not great if you’re [rock band] Grizzly Bear. And the reality is: Take a look around.
“We’ve had enough time for the whole ‘All the boats rise’ argument to see they don’t all rise. Those boats rise. These boats don’t. They can’t make money in any means. And I think that’s bad for art.”
He went on to explain he hoped Apple Music would take the lead by paying artists fairly because the company could prop up the streaming side of the business using their other revenues.
Trent added: “I thought maybe at Apple there could be influence to pay in a more fair or significant way, because a lot of these services are just a rounding error compared to what comes in elsewhere, unlike Spotify where their whole business is that.
“But that’s tied to a lot of other political things and label issues, and everyone’s trying to hold onto their little piece of the pie and it is what it is. I also realise, I think that people just want to turn the faucet on and have music come in. They’re not really concerned about all the romantic [stuff] I thought mattered.”
Trent’s comments come shortly after it was announced that Spotify has demonetised all tracks on the streaming service with less than 1000 plays – meaning those artists will get nothing for their efforts.
Reports suggest up to 60 per cent of songs on Spotify do not meet the new threshold for royalty payments.