Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has sparked a backlash from the creative community after claiming that creating “content” costs “close to zero.”
“Today, with the cost of creating content close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content,” Ek said recently. tweeted, which drew criticism for suggesting that creative works like music are simply “content.” He then wrote: “While much of what we see and hear quickly becomes obsolete, there are timeless ideas or even pieces of music that can remain relevant for decades or even centuries.”
From there, Ek reflected on which ideas would have a “long shelf life” in the style of Stoicism. Read the full tweet below.
In response to Ek's comments, musicians, labels, fans and more have spoken out, reminding us that the cost of being a working musician in today's world is certainly not “close to zero.”
Future of Music Coalition answered“In reality, it can still be expensive to make records, especially if you care about paying your collaborators fairly” and aggregate, “Many musicians are experts at taking shortcuts to achieve their creative goals on limited budgets. And, in fact, some aspects of production are more affordable than in the past. But this often ends up being radically exaggerated.”
Meanwhile, L'islet Records called “bullsh!t”, saying“Artists and bands spend enormous amounts of time and resources learning their craft, acquiring equipment, rehearsing, writing, recording, employing producers/mixers, etc.”
Between equipment, studio time, touring expenses, opportunity cost and more, the numbers are increasingly not in favor of musicians; just look Consequence's Balance Sheet, which gives an idea of the reality that many musicians face.
Ek's comments seem particularly tone-deaf because Spotify just formalized its latest price increases while introducing a new royalty model that appears to involve paying songwriters $150 million less in their first year.
Today, with the cost of creating content close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content. This has made me curious about the concept of long lifespan versus short lifespan. While much of what we see and hear quickly becomes obsolete, there is…
-Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) May 29, 2024
Many musicians are experts at taking shortcuts to achieve their creative goals on limited budgets. And, in fact, some aspects of production are more affordable than in the past. But this often ends up being radically exaggerated.
“Close to zero?” No.
– Future of Music Coalition (@future_of_music) May 29, 2024
Shit!
Recently the general director of @spotify Daniel Elk @eldsjal proclaimed on social media “Today, with the cost of creating content close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content.”
We respectfully suggest that this statement is total nonsense! Artists and bands… pic.twitter.com/utSRZCeV7o
– L'islet Records (@lisletrecords) June 1, 2024
thanks to our partners at consequence.net
