(Hypebot) — New rules demanded by the major labels to devalue or delete so-called “junk tracks” are now in full force at Spotify, Amazon Music, Deezer, and several other music streaming services, according to multiple sources.
However, each DSP and the digital distributors that serve them appear to be implementing the changes differently.
1000 or Nothing
On Spotify, tracks with less than 1000 streams yearly are no longer being paid royalties. In 2022, Spotify’s Loud & Clear report said that 62.5% of its 100 million tracks had not been played 1000 times since release, much less in a year.
Noise Tracks
Moves to devalue or delete so-called “noise tracks” and replace them with non-royalty-bearing versions are moving more slowly at Spotify and elsewhere. The reason, one source tells Hypebot, is that identifying them is not as simple as noting their play count.
‘Guilty until proven innocent’
Spotify and Amazon Music are among the streamers pushing all digital distributors to crack down on potentially unauthorized live recordings and alternative versions of songs and albums.
One indie label executive shared that, citing new demands from DSPs, their distributor had questioned the legitimacy of a new release because it differed from the artists’ original label home. “I appreciate what they are trying to do,” they said, “but it feels as if independent artists and labels are guilty until proven innocent, while the major labels get a pass.”
Deezer deletes 26 Million tracks
EU-based streamer Deezer, which cut its own new royalty pact with UMG and the other majors, this week shared that it had purged 26 million “useless” audio tracks from its 200 million-track library.
The tracks deleted included noise tracks, fake artists, and songs that had not been streamed in the past 12 months.
$1 Billion More
If you’re not one of the hundreds of thousands of artists no longer eligible to receive royalties, Spotify promises that the new model will shift $1 billion to ‘working artists’ over the next five years.
We’ll be watching…
Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.
