From: Peter Chaikin

Subject: re: Paul Anka

Hi Bob

I smiled at John Van Nest’s sweet story about Paul’s generosity and class. While working for JBL I had a similar experience. One day Al Schmitt phoned. “Hey Peter I wonder if you can help my friend Paul Anka straighten out his JBLs.” “Of course. I’d be honored.“ I arrive at Paul’s house where he takes me to his music room in which there’s an electric piano with a set of small powered JBL speakers on top. “Paul, How can I help you?” “One speaker isn’t working.” I see they’re both connected to power but I notice one of the audio cables is not fully inserted. I give it a nudge, feel the familiar click of a 1/4” plug finding its home in the jack. “Paul can you try it now?” Paul seats himself at the keyboard and plays a few bars, turns to me and says “Ah! Thank You!” As we walk to the driveway he asks “how much do I owe you?“ “Nothing Paul.“ He says “please I insist.” I say  “Al called me and I’m honored to be here, so really it’s my pleasure.” Paul asks “do you like wine? “I respond affirmatively. “Well then wait here.. “ after a bit, Paul returns with a carton in his arms filled with bottles of wine, port and, liqueur. And, shaking my hand he gives me a key fob with husky gold links and a rotating medallion inscribed “My Way!” I thank him profusely.  Some weeks later we take one of the bottles to an Italian restaurant and casually hand it to our waiter for uncorking. After a long wait, a sommelier arrives eyes wide, and informs us this is a very rare bottle of wine. I’m still grateful to Al for gifting me this wonderful experience.

______________________________________

From: Hugo Burnham

Re: Rich Robinson-This Week’s Podcast

One of the most fun shows – of many – on our ’25 ‘Long Goodbye’ Tour last year was in Nashville, when all the Crowes came down and Richie sat in with us. We had quite a few sit-in guests on the tour, but all pretty obvious ones for us (Lenny Kaye, Peter Buck, Jason Narducy, Kathy Valentine, Mike Mills, etc.) – but nobody expected to see a Black Crowe onstage with us!  It was fekkin’ great. He and his brother are both lovely chaps.

This is one I’ll def. listen to.

Hugo

______________________________________

From: James Patrick Regan

Re: Rich Robinson-This Week’s Podcast

Next to Dwight Yoakam and Peter Wolf this is the best interview you’ve done and I love them all!

Thank you!

Best, James

______________________________________

From: James Welby

Re: Rich Robinson-This Week’s Podcast

I enjoyed the Rich Robinson interview.  I am a long-time Black Crowes fan and have heard several interviews with Chris or the brothers together over the years.  Jus the other day I heard a Chris and Rich interview on a podcast and as usual Chris ruled the roost.  I have not heard Rich by himself – it was a joy to hear him without big brother talking over him. I appreciated that he was honest about their “brotherly love,” without being sensationalistic.  By the way, Rich’s various solo and side projects are great.

______________________________________

From: Jesse Lundy

Re: Rich Robinson-This Week’s Podcast

I’m a huge Crowes fan from Day 1. Rich and I are practically the same age and in those early years, I felt we were learning guitar in parallel (he’s better than me). Over the years, we’ve had every OG Black Crowe (except Johnny!) play at Ardmore Music Hall, but having Magpie Salute with Rich and Marc there was a career highlight.

A real hero, for sure.

This was by FAR the best interview I’ve heard him do. So unguarded and open. Really great!

______________________________________

From: Ashley Bradley

Re: Rich Robinson-This Week’s Podcast

The best line of your interview was there at the end when you said Chris seems to take up the air in the room and Rich doesn’t always speak up. His oldest boy and my son were best friends here at the Waldorf school in Nashville, and that educationally philosophy doesn’t get much air time so I’m glad he talked about it. career wise, was interesting to hear about his deep dive into instruments and patterns. When you know musicians here in daily life, you try not to ask about their work, just keep it about the home life but he talked shop with you that I wish I’d asked him about back then!

Ashley

______________________________________

From: Jeremy Facknitz

Re: Loud&Clear

Bob, I think the “Spotify is gonna die” headline was clickbait, and it worked.

But the point of the whole article is in the last paragraph…

“The music industry has spent a decade obsessing over how to get a million people to listen to a song once. The next decade will be defined by artists figuring out how to get 1,000 people to care forever.”

Spotify will probably be fine. And I don’t think it’s evil. But it’s already dead to me, and more and more artists like myself are abandoning it.

I invested over $20,000 USD in online promotion from 2021 through 2025. I have tried and tried and tried to monetize my music online through social media, YouTube and streaming. There are moments where I wish I had burnt that money instead, so I could have at least smelled it. I can’t find the number of billions of dollars that make up the industry that bleeds money from artists online (sync coaching, streaming boosts, etc.), but I know I’ve paid my part.

Now before you say “maybe you just suck” (which is a valid point)… Despite my failures online, I’ve earned merit for my songwriting, I’ve earned the respect of my peers in the industry, and I continue to make my living performing my original work all over North America. My day-job, my music – while nerdy, retro and slightly niche – is not “garbage” like Daniel Ek says it is, or people like you may presume it to be. I’m affirmed and celebrated on stages and in living rooms (house concerts) night after night. It’s just never transferred to the online world.

I firmly believe only I can bring value back to my music. So my upcoming album and accompanying live album will only be sold on physical mediums with an accompanying download. NO STREAMING. Owners (not streamers or subscribers) will have something special and unique only they can experience. Think “secret music”.

I hear you. “But it won’t reach as many people!” I don’t care. “But you won’t make any new fans!” Yes I will. “What if someone else monetizes your work by releasing your music or A.I. versions of your music online?” That’s hilarious. Good luck to them.

If someone likes what I’ve released in the past (which is still streaming everywhere but Spotify), they can trust they’ll probably like my new album and buy it. If they don’t like what I’ve done, they probably won’t like the new album and pass on it. They don’t need to HEAR my new album before purchasing it. They can buy it sight unseen (or rather “sound unheard”).*

* (You may recall this wild thinking wasn’t so wild in the 1950’s through the 1990’s).

The album may sell 1,000 copies, or 100, or 10, or zero. I’m at peace with that. If people value me enough to make a little extra effort to “own” my music, they’ll do it. If they don’t, they won’t. I’ll have a personal, cherished relationship with those who do.

Making my album available only on physical mediums won’t change my income. I earned just under $4K off CD sales alone in 2025 (yes, CD sales! In 2025!) and I made next to nothing off my streams. I make fans in person, make transactions in person. I’ve never monetized the people who discovered me solely online. The woman in India who was briefly obsessed with my song for 2 months in 2021 never bought a t-shirt or a ticket. Exposure is cool, but it doesn’t buy groceries. This is a business; a boutique business. I am the boss and I care about getting paid and feeling valued. The online world you make fun of us “oldsters” for chastising has never – EVER – offered me either of those things.

More and more artists are waking up to idea of going small and creating their own industry. That might not kill Spotify – but it might knock it down a peg from its bullsh*t “God” status.

This is how I see it… “new”, “original” music is just a Suno prompt away for the layman. The game is over. So we need a new game.

The craftspeople are gonna have to go deep underground to get any of that value back, and hope a handful of people will join us there.

Luckily, a handful is all we need.

Jeremy Facknitz

______________________________________

From: John Parikhal

Re: Loud&Clear

Great post, Bob. True – and it will fall on deaf ears. The ones making music and money are too busy creating, promoting and playing. The ones not making money just blame the audience for not having good taste – which is ridiculous, of course.

Back in the day, when I had a lot more influence over recommending to radio, we would spend at least one day a week just listening to albums – looking for anything that wasn’t getting airplay but was better than good. It yielded 1-2 “worth talking about” songs. Then we would network on the PHONE, talking to others who did the same deep dives and, if we were lucky we agreed on 1 “really good” every week. Most everything else was dreck, at best.

In other words, most of those “best try” songs just weren’t good enough. Some artists never gave up and a few had real breakthroughs. But most accepted they weren’t good enough and did something else.

Spotify democratized the process. And a lot more musicians made more money. Unfortunately your well-reasoned and data based insights will never persuade the rigid minds – sort of like hard-core MAGA. One they decide they are right, they stop listening.

John

______________________________________

From: Mike Vial

Re: Loud&Clear (Streaming Complainers)

Bob, you must get so much hate for writing this.

I assume you get the loudest laments from us locals with little to no audience.

Look, I can complain about not getting paid for >1000 streams on my track a year; but my college roommate in 2001 used to dump his pennies, dimes, and nickels into the tip jar at the Kalamazoo coffee house because he didn’t want to carry it in his pockets. “Not worth it, Vial.”

So us local artists who sold CDs, we must accept that an audience member at the coffee house, bar, house concert, even club gig bought a cd, but it was often just a tip.

A tough reality: People probably rarely listened to the CD the local had Discmakers press to sell at gigs. I bet many a local band has even found one of their own CDs at the Salvation Army or Goodwill in their town! (Yes! Even I have! Lol!)

It’s a hard truth. It scratches one’s ego. Now, the numbers are public…

And when the technology changed. Us locals feel like we are ripped off. But Why? Heck, most complaining musicians aren’t going to acquaintances’ gigs, buying their acquaintances CDs either, are they.

The math changed…

In 2006, in 2012, the time it took to make that $5-15 at the merch table was quick! It was a cool time to print 1000 CDs and sell them. I made my first EP, sold enough to break even in few months.

I felt so great!

A streaming a fan to make $5–takes so many more minutes. It’s depressing.

But everyone is living in this same era. Who’s crying for the video game developer? The complaining musician is like all of now at the gas pump. Everyone is living with the same oil crisis…what did my dad say? “You aren’t special! Grow up.”

I’m so tired of the local scene still complaining about streaming. Hey, are they still writing the date 2016 on their checks?

No. They aren’t: It’s 2026 and they are using Venmo and Cash App and Netflix and Apple TV and living in a digital world in every other part of their lives. (Sure, it is better to use cash to psychologically budget oneself, but convenience wins over culture. I know there is a fair debate about technology in our lives, but that’s for a cultural debate.)

And what have you reminded the musicians, Bob? We can’t have technology only advance and change in one area of recording. Technology will affect the listener too! Making the songs on recording gear has never been more affordable. That was the counter argument that finally shut me up.

Sure, it hurts…But my local side hustle isn’t part of the larger music industry. (Or is it?)  Either way, I’ll complain to my wife; the 35 people who saw me at the local little gig last weekend don’t need to hear me lament about streaming. They have problems of their own, and they want to escape ‘em through an hour of live music, just like me.

Mike Vial

______________________________________

From: Afriqua

Antisemitism in the dance music world

Hi Bob,

I’m Adam, a Virginia born, Berlin-based producer, pianist, and DJ. I perform as Afriqua. I was in Tel Aviv to play a Purim show when the US-Israel strikes on Iran began. Israeli airspace closed. I spent days in a hotel safe room, got driven to Eilat, crossed into Egypt, and eventually made it back to Berlin through Athens.

When I got home, I posted a video saying thank you to my hosts who took care of me:

View this post on Instagram

The backlash was immediate and came almost entirely from the underground dance music community — the one that still sustains much of club life in Berlin, London, and New York, even as more commercial versions take off globally.

I’m Black and Jewish, and while my project has been more focused on the former, I’ve never hidden either identity. This experience made undeniable a growing issue. As dance music becomes more globally popular, underground dance music is becoming more antisemitic.

Like most great things in popular music, it emerged from the Black and gay communities in the US, and welcomed anyone ready to dance with an open mind. The politics that define it now were retrofitted onto it later, and have become increasingly radical as it’s gotten further from its roots. It’s like if Studio 54 had the politics of Swedish Black Metal.

Thought you’d appreciate the story, as I’ve always appreciated yours.

Adam Longman Parker (Afriqua)

______________________________________

From: Brian Allman

Re: Re-Paul Anka

Best music doc I’ve seen in years.  What an enjoyable piece it was with his rich history that I knew so little about and his humility, just fun to learn about.
Thanks for the recommend.

Brian

1

I knew it had to be a true story.

So what I like to do is choose a song in Spotify, and then see what the algorithm serves me thereafter. Oftentimes I don’t even listen to what is purveyed, I just want to see what the service comes up with. And I can’t remember what song I started with yesterday, but about twenty five songs in, it served me “I Love You” by the Climax Blues Band.

What do I know about the Climax Blues Band? For a while there, they were managed by Miles Copeland, and they had two hits, “Couldn’t Get It Right” and “I Love You.” Other than that…I never bought an album and I don’t remember hearing them on the radio. But those two tracks…

Came deep in the band’s career.

And the band were on a slew of labels. They were journeymen, akin to Savoy Brown. But unlike Savoy Brown, Climax Blues Band had two hits. And neither of them sounded like the blues. “Couldn’t Get It Right” was a staple on FM radio in the late seventies. The change into the chorus…

“And I kept on looking for a sign in the middle of the night

But I couldn’t see the light, no, I couldn’t see the light

I kept on looking for a way to take me through the night

Couldn’t get it right, I couldn’t get it right”

I won’t quite say the chorus was sotto voce… But the verse is almost a march, as in the band is strutting down the road, and the chorus is almost an aside, and that’s what makes it magical.

But “I Love You”…

It broke up the band.

2

“When I was younger, man

I hadn’t a care

Fooling around

Hitting the town

Growing my hair”

There’s a soft intro, and then the singer stands up naked, right out front, and sings these words. He’s testifying and he’s not worried about how he looks, what anybody cares, he’s delivering it from the heart. The instrumentation drops out almost entirely, all you’ve got is the words and the message.

As for the message…

Today it’s different. People consider college to be a trade school. They’re on a career path from puberty. But in the sixties and seventies…

Of course not everybody went to college. But those who did and did not had the same experience of being out of school, getting high, getting drunk, trying to find out who they were. That was part of life, you weren’t building a résumé, you were feeling it out, changing it up, meeting new people, discarding others.

“You came along

And stole my heart

When you entered my life

Ooh, babe

You got what it takes

So I made you my wife”

This was when you still were optimistic, when you still had hope. At least we did, I’m not so sure about the younger generations today. You were looking for love, and when you found it it seemed like a revelation, it got you high, you were elated. You’d had a few misfires, but this one was gonna last, for a while anyway.

“Since then

I never looked back

It’s almost like living a dream

And, ooh

I love you”

They’re in it together, it’s him and her against the world.

“You came along

From far away

And found me here”

I know, I know, there are people who meet their significant other in nursery school, never mind college. But back when life was fluid, when you got in your car and parked your ass in a new location…you never quite knew who you were going to run into. It seemed like pure luck that you ran into this person. There was no connection other than you were both at the bar at the same time, or you had mutual friends.

“I was playing around

Feeling down

Hitting the beer

You picked me up

From off the floor

And gave me a smile”

Wives and girlfriends don’t get enough credit. It might be their husband, their significant other’s name in lights, but without their support, and oftentimes their direction, their man would fall apart, not even make it. This is in all walks of life, but especially with musicians, certainly successful ones. They’re the other, they need someone to root them and then connect them to society.

“You said

You’re much too young

Your life ain’t begun

Let’s walk for a while

Wait a second, in an earlier verse it seems like they got married right away. But here we hear that she put on the brakes, slowed him down, told him she wanted to be together for a while and see what happened.

But he was in from hello.

“And as my head was spinning ’round

I gazed into your eyes

And thought, ooh

I want you”

And here comes the essence, the piece-de-resistance.

“Thank you, babe

For being a friend

And shining your light in my life

‘Cause, ooh

I need you”

And he most certainly does. She energizes him, gives him direction…and he knows it, he knows her value to him.

“Thanks again for being my friend

And straightening out my life

‘Cause, ooh

I need you”

That’s what she did. She picked him up out of the slow lane, if not quite the gutter, then gave him direction and support.

And, once again, he knows it, and he wants her to know it.

“Since then I never looked back

It’s almost like livin’ a dream

Ooh

I got you

“If ever a man had it all

It would have to be me

And, ooh

I love you”

3

Now the average guy can’t be soft and sensitive, open-hearted, especially if he’s in a driving rock band, where this is anathema. Rock was all about machismo, tight pants showing your package. Sure, there were singer-songwriters, oftentimes considered wimpy, irrelevant of their talent, but even the Climax Blues Band had an element of cock rock. So… “I Love You” was totally out of character. But it was so honest and direct, simple. And there were touches…two guys or girls in a room couldn’t come up with some of these lines. Because this guy lived it, and it’s straight from the heart.

So I decided to Google and find out the real story, if it was a true story.

AND OF COURSE IT WAS!

What came up instantly was it was about Derek Holt’s FIRST WIFE!

That cracked me up, that they didn’t stay together. Back in our era, very few people did. As time went on there was distance, or too much anger, or third parties…and what seemed like forever turned out not to be. But when you stood up in front of your friends and family and said your vows, you thought it was.

Yup, Holt was inspired. The song came out almost instantly. I know, I know, some of the greatest songs are belabored, but so many of the great ones come in a flash, a lightning bolt from the heavens. You’re almost channeling them.

So…

The rest of the guys in the group HATED IT! Didn’t want to record it, never mind put it on their album, but producer John Ryan heard something and…

He called a session with Nicky Hopkins! John Cuffley, the band’s drummer, performed, and Holt, the singer, who was normally not, called in group member Pete Haycock to play the solo and…

Ryan thought the song needed strings. STRINGS??? That takes you right into wimpydom, the antithesis of the Climax Blues Band. And who does he call? DAVID CAMPBELL! Who’s got a list of credits a mile long, check them out in Wikipedia: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Campbell_(composer)

He’s worked with a who’s who of rockers, from the Stones to Metallica to even Garth Brooks, who’s got roots in rock, he credits his inspiration to KISS. And Campbell has arranged and orchestrated music for “Dreamgirls” and “Brokeback Mountain” and…

So it’s a veritable dream team…who knew Hopkins and Campbell were involved? There was no internet all those years ago.

And when Warner Bros. heard the result…they knew they had a smash!

4

Which it was. But the rest of the band STILL HATED IT!

They never ever played it live.

Ultimately the band ruptured as a result of this song, Derek Holt was excised from the band. The only time “I Love You” was ever performed live was…when Holt was at a karaoke bar in Florida in 2005.

And the well went even deeper.

For a long time, the Climax Blues Band’s albums were out of print.

And there is still a Climax Blues Band on the road, but there are no original members!

Now if that ain’t a rock and roll story…

Everybody alive back in 1980 knows this song. But almost no one can name the players in the band, never mind the writer. To the point where they can put a fake group on the road and get away with it.

As for the original players… They run out of juice, it’s hard enough if you’re a superstar, it’s a slog out there on the road, with guys you may know since you were a teenager, who you may hate these days.

Derek Holt? I hope he owns the publishing, but I doubt it. At best he probably gets the writer’s share. You had to pay to play back then. But maybe Holt’s got it, maybe he even got it in a reversion. I want to believe that.

As for the song, it’s been covered a number of times, it lives on.

So, you can see it as a schmaltzy number, with “moon in June” lyrics, that appeals to women and others with soft insides…but that’s not the real story. “I Love You” came straight from Derek Holt’s heart, he meant every word. And you can hear it in the record, which is why it’s so great, because it’s TRUE!

Coda: The essence, the reason for this song, for Holt’s bond to his wife, is she SUPPORTED HIM, told him NOT TO GIVE UP! If you haven’t thought of giving up, you’re not a real artist. The life is so hard and you get wrapped up in your own mind and what you need is direction and support, and it’s not that easy to find, the world is full of naysayers. But when you find it…

The records that were hits at the same time as the British Invasion.

Tune in Saturday March 14th to Faction Talk, channel 103, at 4 PM East, 1 PM West.

If you miss the episode, you can hear it on demand on the SiriusXM app. Search: Lefsetz

Report: https://loudandclear.byspotify.com

1

The music business is opaque. And that’s the way those inside like it. Because they can play fast and loose with the money… Isn’t that what the Live Nation conversation between those two employees is all about, the company screwing the ignorant public?

Maybe you missed that story. If so, here goes:

“‘Robbing Them Blind’: Live Nation Employees Joked About Fees – A series of private exchanges in the messaging system Slack were revealed as exhibits in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against the concert giant.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/arts/music/live-nation-ticketmaster-trial-fees-slacks.html

Now the funny thing is it’s not only Live Nation (and its competitors) who don’t want the truth to come out, but the acts themselves. If breakdowns of every show were posted… The fans would still blame Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the ticketing company and the promoter. Because they just can’t believe that the acts are at fault, that they bear any responsibility for high ticket prices, that without the fees, the economics don’t work, there is no show. Again and again Live Nation says that the acts set ticket prices. And let’s put aside club gigs… Once you grow into theatres, the artist’s team might ask the promoter for its opinion on pricing and scaling, but the buck stops with the act. Then again, if an act wants a certain gross, wants to walk away from the tour with a large pot of money, inherently ticket prices will be higher. Conversely, if the act wants to charge less for tickets, then it’s a field day for bots and the secondary market. But somehow the consumer doesn’t want to accept any of this, people just believe they should be able to get a great seat for a low price and scalp the ticket themselves if they want to.

As for the antitrust case… Are you aware of the Apple iBooks antitrust lawsuit? Amazon was paying publishers full wholesale, but selling books for under ten bucks to build a business. But Apple was employing the agency system. Which means the publisher can set whatever price it wants, and Apple will take 30% of that. I’m not going to walk you through all the details, but the bottom line here is the antitrust case made Amazon go to the agency system as well, meaning…THE PRICE OF E-BOOKS WENT UP! FOR EVERYONE! Which is antithetical to the theory of antitrust, that it’s about harm to the consumer. That’s how intelligent the government is.

As for the Live Nation/Ticketmaster case… That’s the true question, if you split off the company, if you change the game as per the settlement just reached, will the consumer benefit, will prices go down and will they find it easier to get a ticket? ABSOLUTELY NOT! But nobody in the government can see or accept this.

2

Word on the street is that Spotify is the devil, that it is ripping artists off, if it pays at all. I mean someone’s got to be blamed for the fact that the act isn’t making more money. And no matter what you tell people, you can’t change their mind. It’s like MAGA, doesn’t matter what Trump does, they hate the LIBS.

But Spotify is a tech company. Those are the roots of the two founders, Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. And tech is about digital, zeros and ones, there’s no fudging, because if there was the system, the program, wouldn’t work.

And the ethos of the Millennials and Gen-Z is far different from that of the Baby Boomers and Gen-X. Boomers believed music should be free, back in the SIXTIES! The younger generations don’t mind people making money, as long as they can see all the evidence, be walked through the steps. These are the entrepreneurial generations. Not buying insurance by becoming a doctor or lawyer, but believing in themselves and taking risks.

And the truth is the younger generations have no problem with Spotify. It’s the oldsters who do… Who want to go back to the label model of yore, before the internet. But their cries are dying out. Remember all the oldsters complaining about the audio quality of digital files? That was batted about FOR YEARS! And now hi-res is available and most people don’t bother to pay for it or have the equipment to hear it.

It’s kind of like politics. Did you read that 85 year old Representative Jim Clyburn is running for another term, his 18th in Congress? Man, I’d like to get him in a conversation about TikTok and social media. He’s inherently out of touch. And I know this is true… I’m constantly doing podcasts with Boomers who don’t know the tech, who tell me their computers broke. Bottom line…if you’ve got a Mac, they’re almost bulletproof. Just reboot. This is not the eighties anymore. Can I tell you how many times I’ve fixed people’s iPhones and Macs when they were ready to go to the Apple Store?

Of course, of course, there are old people who are tech-savvy, but the world is based on generalizations, except in tech.

So, Spotify has put up Loud&Clear, which answers every question people have about streaming and how the company works. Whenever anybody tells you how bad Spotify is, point them to this site. It’s exhaustive. And potentially exhausting. People want it simple, bite-sized, and they prefer emotion to facts.

3

Here is the summary:

https://newsroom.spotify.com/2026-03-11/loud-and-clear-music-economics-highlights/

But the bottom line is more people are making more money.

Here’s where it gets dicey. When I tell people they’re not entitled to compensation if people don’t stream their music. Where in business does this concept play? Does a commission salesperson get paid a big salary when they sell very little? Does everybody who can shoot a basket earn a place in the NBA? Then again, the world runs on delusion.

You should read each and every point in the above link, click on the ten Takeaways, expanding them for more information.

In addition, you should read the FAQ:

Your Questions, Answered

My favorite is: “Why does the ‘per-stream rate’ appear lower for Spotify than some other streaming services?”

Of course there’s no per-stream rate, and that is explained in depth in this report. But the nougat is:

“The average Spotify listener streams 3 to 4 times more music per month than the average listener of other streaming services.”

I could do the math for you, but either you get it or you don’t. But underneath that is the fact that Spotify is where active music listeners go. Where the fans are. You can be a king on another service but still be a pawn in the game. If you’re a king on Spotify, you are truly royalty.

And the increased listening and market share and ultimate payouts are why competing platforms won’t release their own reports, won’t be as transparent. Then again, are the others pure music companies or is music a sideshow.

Which brings me to that inane “Death of Spotify” article that I wrote about, that people keep e-mailing me.

To think Jimmy Iovine is a seer of technology is like saying Clyburn is one too. Boomer Jimmy is all about the old world, and he’s pissed someone moved his cheese.

But the bottom line is…if you think Spotify is about to die, you’d better short Apple and Nvidia too. Because the odds of the streaming company going under are as miniscule as those of the two tech giants caving.

But it makes a good story.

Then again, the labels used to run the music business, now it’s the promoters, it’s all about live. And those holding the short end of the stick don’t like that they’re no longer all-powerful.

But it gets better. One of the questions in the FAQ is:

“Would the user-centric model be fairer?”

They link to the French report and a summary from MusicAlly.

If you click through to the summary:

French study offers new data on impact of user-centric payouts

You’ll find out that:

“Among the key findings: switching to a user-centric system would reduce the royalties paid out to rightsholders of the top 10 artists by 17.2% – they’d get 7.7% of the overall payouts rather than 9.3%. The result would be small percentage gains further down the pyramid: an average 1.3% increase for artists ranked 11-100; 2.2% for those ranked 101-1,000; 0.5% for those between 1,001 and 10,000; and 5.2% for those outside the top 10,000.”

And you must read the following paragraph:

“‘If the percentages of change seem not insignificant, the amounts in value remain in reality limited,’ warned the CNM in its summary of the findings. That 5.2% average increase for artists outside the top 10,000 would be ‘at most a few euros per year on average’ for those musicians.”

And there you have it, the user-centric model is a canard.

And speaking of MusicAlly, they have a great summary of Loud&Clear here:

80 artists are generating $10m-plus of Spotify payouts a year

4

Most people can’t handle the truth. Which is Spotify isn’t the devil, it didn’t kill the music business, IT SAVED IT!

But now everybody can play and everybody can complain. The most vociferous e-mail I receive about the system is from those not in it. That’s the internet, everybody is entitled to a voice, but not every voice is worth listening to.

Streaming is here to stay. There’s nothing past streaming, it’s on demand. You get it when you need it, and it’s available instantly. What could be better than that?

And there are other ways to make money from recordings, like Patreon and SoundCloud… Go for it! But that’s marginal artists making money from fans. At least they’re marginal in terms of absolute streams, compared to who is successful on Spotify.

Let me just quote the MusicAlly report above, to make it perfectly clear:

“Spotify said that more than 1,500 artists generated more than $1m in payouts in 2025, while more than 13,800 generated at least $100k. The usual caveat being that this is before rightsholders and distributors took their cuts.

“The 13,800 figure is nearly 1,400 up on last year’s report, while Spotify offered another angle on the payout-millionaires stat. ‘Capturing just 1% of streams from 1% of listeners is enough to earn $1 million in annual royalties from Spotify.’

“‘In 2025, the 100,000th-highest-earning artist generated more than $7,300 in royalties from Spotify alone. In 2015, the artist in that same position generated about $350,’ added Spotify in its summary of the trends in this year’s report.”

Read it and weep.

Or maybe you can see that the future’s so bright you’ve got to wear shades.

But not for everybody, but it never was.

5

Let’s hope for more of this, more transparency, but don’t bet on it. This is the essence of the entertainment business, ripping people off. Just ask the actors with net profit participations in the hit films they appeared in. When I was practicing law, we represented an actor who had a net profit participation in the second biggest film of the year. He never saw a dime, it remained in a negative position. Creative accounting. If the hits don’t make money, how can the studios survive? But the truth is they do make money, they just employ accounting tricks to make sure they’re not sharing it.

That’s not what Spotify is doing and Loud&Clear lays it all out.

I’d read it before you start pontificating how bad Spotify is.