One of the world’s largest music streaming platforms is losing artists. The focus of artist concerns have shifted recently from abysmal payouts to now exiting Spotify CEO Daniel Ek’s 600 million-Euro (NZ$1.2 billion) investment in Helsing, a German defence firm that manufactures AI military technology.

However, not all artists can quit the streaming giant just yet, especially emerging artists whose careers are nascent, and they are trying to break into the music industry to make a name for themselves. According to Boycott Spotify NZ, a joint statement from Kiwi artists who have left the platform, the company pays 1/20th of an NZ cent per stream. On top of that, getting the audience to listen to your song is a daunting task. 

Auckland-based producer and co-owner of Coatesville’s First Generation Studios, Kovan Eskeri (pictured), commends artists who have chosen to leave the platform due to rock-bottom payouts.

“The effort that you’re putting into content, whether it’s paid ads, whether it’s marketing, whether it’s writing up blogs or emailing people… getting people to stream your music each and every new day when there’s millions of other artists to listen to is not the easiest thing to do,” Eskeri says.

He says it’s difficult for artists to make music a sustainable career, especially for those in developing countries, who receive less payouts than their counterparts in developed countries. Spotify did not reply to a request for comment when asked about the disparity in payouts.

The streaming giant promised to modernise its royalty system as of 2024, where artists with at least 1000 annual streams will be eligible for payouts. According to the new policy, new and emerging artists will be paid out ‘tens of millions of dollars per year’.

Chartmetric’s report for 2024 shows that out of 11 million Spotify profiles it tracks, only 1.58 million have 10 monthly listeners. According to Kiwi-Kurdish producer and Eskeri’s business partner, Baban Hussain (pictured), 86% of the songs on the platform have less than 1000 streams.

Spotify didn’t respond to a request for comment on the number of songs that have under 1000 streams on its platform. However, Eskeri continues to release music on Spotify. For him, it’s not only about building up his discography, but also making his music accessible to listeners.

“Because at the end of the day, it’s about the fans and about the people who listen to my music, and if they don’t have a place to listen to my music, or if I’m making it more difficult for them to listen to my music, it’s not something I’m necessarily keen to jump at,” he explains.

South Auckland-based producer Isaiah Tekotia (Izzy Beats) is one artist who has changed his position and wants to move away from the app.

“I’m in the process of getting my catalogue removed from Spotify, just because of all these things that Spotify are indulging in, which is a bit past the entertainment and starting to dive deeper into violence and war – and us creators, we have no hand in that,” he says.

Tekotia has been releasing his music on Spotify due to its mammoth consumer base. The app has almost 700 million users worldwide, while Apple Music has around 94 million users.

“Spotify have this electric hold on the record industry that nobody can see. They’ve got a hand in everything, whether it’s an original piece that was composed by yourself, or whether it’s a sample that’s been touched a million times by a million different producers,” he says.

Hussain and Eskeri think an alternative to streaming services will emerge at some stage, and would pivot from Spotify when there is an alternative.

“I think we’re actually reaching an age where something’s about to switch…It’s starting to look like something new will come out, or something has to change,” Eskeri says.

For now, though, it can be difficult for up-and-coming artists to garner streams unless they can get on Spotify’s automated playlists like Release Radar and Discover Weekly.

“Getting on those playlists is not easy, to be honest. It’s a lot about pitching, and then you have to make sure your song does good in the first couple of days to two weeks… and it’s also about the primary doing outside, because you want to show Spotify that you bring people to the app,” Hussain explains.

Spotify picks artists for their playlists based on fan engagement, the audience’s streaming habits, and the quality of an artist’s pitch to get on the playlist. This is primarily where popular artists stand a better chance than emerging artists. Despite the struggles newer talent in the music scene has to go through, Hussain says most artists still choose to continue pursuing possible careers. 

“I think a lot of them just kind of keep going and are like, ‘That’s okay…I just gotta keep growing, keep growing, keep growing.’ As artists, I think this is the thing we do.”