Stryper’s Michael Sweet is not happy with how Spotify treats musicians.
The vocalist shared the news about Spotify’s recent move to raise its monthly subscription prices in the US for the second time this year. He wrote about what he thought:
“Taking more from you yet still giving pennies to the bands that created the music.”
Sweet’s Earlier Statements On Spotify
Sweet previously criticized Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s suggestion that artists need to produce more music in the streaming age. Ek argued that more artists are earning a living from streaming, but they need to keep engaging their fans and can’t just release music every few years. In an interview with Sonic Perspectives, the frontman noted:
“I think artists should do whatever they feel led to do. And if that’s every year or if that’s every 10 years, it’s not his place to tell artists what to do. And, unfortunately, he’s in a position right now where he’s captaining the ship. Spotify is pretty much the leading way for music to be heard and be streamed, and artists, as you know, make very little money from all the streaming.”
Sweet Wants Spotify To Disappear
Michael shared his wish about Spotify’s future:
“The labels are making a little more money, but this guy’s getting rich, becoming a multi-millionaire, if not a billionaire. And then he’s telling artists how to do things and what they need to do. It’s just kind of hypocritical and comical. I can’t wait until the day comes [when] Spotify is no more. I’d love to see that day.”
The singer talked about how he would prefer things to be:
“I’d love to see streaming music be done away with, and for it to get back to some sort of hard copy, whether it’s vinyl or CDs again. Because that’s the fair way to do things. That’s when the artist who is working so hard to create the music is compensated properly.”
Spotify is raising its prices again in the U.S. Starting next month, Premium subscribers will pay $11.99 a month, up by $1 from last July. Spotify Duo will increase by $2 to $16.99 a month, and the Family plan will go up by $3 to $19.99 a month. Similar price hikes happened for international users last month.
You can see Sweet’s post below.