Carmine Appice, is currently promoting the new Cactus album ‘Temple of Blues – Influences & Friends.’ The drummer sat down with Toilet Ov Hell and revealed that he isn’t a fan of the streaming music business model where access is prioritized over ownership.
He also encouraged listeners to not stream music on Spotify and buy it on iTunes instead:
“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.”
Appice explained why he will never use 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. 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.”
The drummer called himself lucky for having started earlier than some of the musicians and addressed some comments about the platform:
“Lucky for me, knock on wood, I started a long time ago. All my big money was made. And I used it and made investments, so I’m sitting okay. But a lot of musicians are starting on Spotify. And they once said, ‘Well, Spotify is like radio.’ I said, ‘No, it isn’t. Radio, you get paid for it.”
The Only Way Musicians Make Money Today
Appice worked with many different names and bands. However, years later, he decided to sell his catalog. The drummer explained his decision to sell his catalog and addressed the streaming business:
“There’s no money in songwriting anymore. There’s no money in selling records. I’ve got all these gold records on the wall; nobody gets those anymore. And that’s how you make money.”
He added:
“The only way to make any money today is if you get a song on Netflix or you get a song in a movie. That’s the only way to get money. ‘Cause the streaming business is ridiculously useless.”
You can watch the interview below.