US Music Business 1 min read

Spotify, Live Nation and the role of the music industry baddie

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Editors Desk Source: Financial Times

Published 3 hr ago

The Sex Pistols and manager Malcolm McLaren (third from right), signing with A&M outside Buckingham Palace — the contract was terminated a week later © Getty Images

The business of selling music has always been a source of grievance for those who create it

The biggest companies in music are provoking a rising drumbeat of criticism. Spotify paid out a record-breaking $10bn in royalties in 2024, but remains beset by allegations that artists aren’t being remunerated adequately. Its recommendation system is condemned for supposedly treating listeners like sheeple, herding them algorithmically from song to song. For haters, the world’s most popular music streaming service is the worst innovation to emerge from Sweden since fermented herring.