I just watched a brilliant video by Venus Theory about the current state of music streaming, and it crystallised something I've been thinking about for months.
The streaming economy isn't just unfair—it's fundamentally broken, and we as composers and musicians need to start building our own safety nets.
The Harsh Reality of Streaming Numbers
Let me share some sobering statistics from my own experience: I recently released 30 albums over six months.
Those albums generated around 400,000 streams and earned me... $100. That's 400,000 people who listened to my music, and I have zero way to contact them, zero data about them, and virtually no income from them.
Meanwhile, Spotify has reduced payouts from $0.004 to $0.003 per stream—a 25% cut—while implementing a 1,000-stream threshold before you earn anything.
To put this in perspective: 1,000 streams might net you $3, but one person buying your $5 album gives you nearly double that, plus customer data.
The Bigger Problems We're Facing
The issues go far beyond low payouts:
Identity Theft and Bot Playlists
Anyone can impersonate you and upload music to your artist profile. I've experienced this myself—AI music appearing on my profiles with no recourse.
When you contact your distributor, they blame the platform. When you contact the platform, they blame the distributor. It's an endless loop of non-accountability.
The Ownership Web
Here's what's really concerning: DistroKid (the biggest distributor most independent artists use) is partly owned by Spotify. Spotify is majority-owned by the major labels.
They've created a closed ecosystem where they control distribution, streaming, and increasingly, the content itself through "ghost writers" who create filler tracks for playlists.
No Audience Control
When a streaming platform decides your music was on a "bot playlist" and removes those streams (conveniently avoiding payout), you lose that income with zero recourse.
Worse, you have no way to contact the audience that was listening to your music.
Learning from Traditional Business Wisdom
Internet marketers have been saying this for years: stop sending people to platforms you don't control.
Yet musicians continue paying Facebook to drive traffic to Spotify, where they earn pennies and gain zero audience data.
I learned this lesson the hard way when Google's "helpful content update" destroyed 90% of my website traffic overnight.
But because I had an email list, I survived. My superfans—those 20 people who consistently invest in my work—kept my business alive when algorithms failed me.
The Math That Changes Everything
Consider these scenarios:
Streaming Model: 1,000 streams = $3, zero audience data, zero control
Direct Model: 10 people buy your $5 album = $50, plus customer data and direct relationship
The 1,000 True Fans Model: 1,000 people paying $100 annually = $100,000
You don't need millions of streams. You need genuine connections.
What Genres Work for Direct Sales?
Not every genre translates equally to direct sales:
- Metal fans love physical media and merchandise
- Trailer music and epic music fans still buy albums and support artists
- Lo-fi listeners tend to be playlist bingers who prefer background streaming
Understanding your audience's consumption habits is crucial for determining your strategy.
Building Your Safety Net: Practical Steps
1. Start Collecting Emails
Every release should include a way for people to connect with you directly:
- Offer the first track free for email signup
- Create Bandcamp pages with email collection
- Use platforms like Substack to build subscriber relationships
2. Think Like a Record Label
Michael Gilbride of Mad Records is pioneering an interesting approach: treating music as "top-of-funnel" content—the free thing that introduces people to you. His newsletter becomes the relationship-building tool, and merchandise/premium content becomes the revenue generator.
3. Focus on Connection Over Numbers
Instead of chasing millions of streams, focus on building relationships one fan at a time. It's slower, less flashy, but sustainable and under your control.
4. Offer Premium Options
Don't be afraid to create higher-priced offerings for fans who want more connection. Some people want the premium experience—let them have it.
The Substack Revolution
Musicians are flocking to platforms like Substack because they offer:
- Direct audience relationships
- Email list ownership
- Revenue sharing that actually benefits creators
- Community building tools
It's not about abandoning streaming entirely—it's about not being entirely dependent on it.
My Personal Strategy Going Forward
I'm still releasing music on streaming platforms as a "security measure" and for copyright protection, but my focus is shifting toward:
- Building my own catalogue as a record label
- Focusing on specific genres with engaged fanbases
- Creating landing pages that capture emails
- Using platforms like Substack and Bandcamp for direct fan relationships
The Historical Perspective
This isn't new.
Before Myspace, musicians had to graft for their audience—playing to the same 30 people every gig until those relationships grew into careers.
We've simply traded gatekeepers: instead of record labels, we have algorithm-driven platforms that provide even less artist support.
Remember when Radiohead released "In Rainbows" as pay-what-you-want? That was artists taking control.
Amanda Palmer raised a million dollars from fans for an album she only asked $250,000 for. These weren't accidents—they were the result of years of direct fan relationship building.
The Bottom Line
I'm not saying stop releasing music or abandon streaming entirely. I'm saying build a safety net. Create ways for your true fans to find you, connect with you, and support you directly.
Because here's the reality: 100 people buying a $20 CD equals $2,000. To earn that same amount from streaming, you'd need close to a million streams. That's 100 genuine fans versus nearly a million anonymous listeners.
The choice is yours: continue feeding a system that pays you pennies while keeping your audience hostage, or start building genuine relationships with people who actually want to support your work.
The streaming platforms want you to believe you need their massive reach, but what you really need is connection. And that's something they'll never give you—you have to build it yourself.
What's your experience with streaming versus direct fan relationships? Have you tried building an email list or using platforms like Bandcamp or Substack? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences in the comments.
