It’s hard to imagine going more than a day or two online without relying on YouTube for something. Maybe you need details on a big story, or maybe you want to see the latest trailer for the long-awaited adaptation of your favorite comic book, or maybe, if you’re like the vast majority of young people in America today, you need YouTube to enjoy your favorite music. While streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are boasting subscriber numbers in the tens of millions, YouTube is welcoming several times that many people each and every day to the content hosted on their servers. Video is bigger than ever, and all signs point to its importance in culture only continuing to grow in the years ahead.
Knowing this, you may be wondering why more artists don’t ask fans to stream their music on YouTube as opposed to subscription based streaming services, and the answer is simple: There is very little, if any, money in YouTube. Unless an artists runs their own account and is the only YouTube users posting material from their albums on the service it is unlikely any real income can be generated from the world’s largest video platform. Between competing streams, which are often posted by devout fans hoping to make new fans through recommended videos and easy access to material, and the incredibly low payouts for advertising through the platform, YouTube has made it virtually impossible for people to see substantial returns for sharing their art. Some may argue the availability of material on the platform makes it possible to recruit new fans, who in turn will support the artist down the line, but it is virtually impossible to predict how many people can be converted or when, if ever, they may financially back the artist who entertains them.
For the most part, artists around the globe accept YouTube as a way to reach more listeners, but not as a way to make money. For some, this is enough, but those still struggling to make their art a career feel differently. Here’s an open letter from the band Stickup Kid to their fans regarding the availability of their material on YouTube that was posted earlier this week:
Straight up, YouTube is making it exponentially harder for musicians to survive. There is a huge gap between how much revenue is earned by musicians uploading music to YouTube, and how much of that actually goes to the musicians.
So if you are wondering why it seems like a lot of bands are breaking up, think about it. Your average band is dropping around $10-20k, and most likely more, to record an album (not to mention time, blood, sweat, tears) only for people to stream it for free on YouTube, which is dominating subscription services like Spotify and Apple music.
I just want to remind you guys that every time you listen to a song that makes you feel some type of way, there was an artist who sat there in his/her lonesome and practiced the fuck out of that song, then did take after take after take to get it right. Not to mention all the other expensive and time consuming processes.
What motivation is there for someone to want to join a band if the deck is stacked against them from the start?
Until the music industry and the internet get it right, WE the listeners have to be the ones conscious about this. Please support your favorite artists by purchasing FROM THEM!
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SK
What more needs to be said? Keep all this in mind before you stream another song via YouTube.
