David Crosby Slams Low Royalty Payments, Byrd-mate Roger McGuinn Agrees
David Crosby of Byrds, Crosby, Still, Nash (+ sometimes Young) and solo fame has tweeted his displeasure with the payments he's receiving. In a tweet headlined "real numbers," the outspoken musician published a list of his recent per stream earnings.
Real numbers pic.twitter.com/aO3xMJGqi2
Crosby did not name which song he was referring to, how many co-writers it had or what companies the royalties were funneled through and taking a cut. But he did offer this additional info in response to a fan's tweet.
The companies made a deal to sell out the artists by agreeing to a very very low rate in return for which they got ownership share in the streaming companies which the artist don’t get piece of ….clever …shitty https://t.co/Z071Q4s4sS
— David Crosby (@thedavidcrosby) August 4, 2018
After a fan tweeted about his interaction with Crosby about streaming royalties, Byrd bandmate Roger McGuinn wrote:
Well Byrds record royalties used to be as low as .0007 cents per album. It's always been tough for artists. The road and merchandise are the only way we ever made any money, Thanks to all who come to our concerts and support us! https://t.co/afHIGz2fwR
— Roger McGuinn (@RogerMcGuinn) August 4, 2018
Isn’t that a little unfair to claim $5 for 1m streams?
e.g. Spotify – $0.00437 x 1,00,000 = $4370
It’s not telling the whole story.
Musicians. Math is not a strength. LOL
The average per stream from Crosby’s list is $0.00694
A million plays will generate $6,936
Does it suck? Yeah for sure.
Has-been artists need to adopt the same mindset as an indie artists and quit releasing their music to streaming – there is no reason to put your whole catalog on streaming.
A direct to fan marketing system to SELL music works. I do it all day long and make a full time living and I am a nobody.
Think of the movie industry. They release to theaters; then it goes to the DVD sale, then Redbox/Rentals, then streaming. A movie company does not release their entire catalog to netflix/streaming, it limits releases for a period of time. They maximize the revenue
An indie artist (or has-beens like Crosby & McGuin) can do the same thing and generate a full time income.