Cradle of Filth’s Dani Filth has labelled music streaming platform Spotify criminals as the singer laments the current state of the music industry. Spotify have, in the past, drawn controversy and criticism over its monetary practices regarding bands.
Cradle Of Filth’s Dani Filth: “Spotify are the biggest criminals in the world…we had 26 million plays last year and I got about 20 pounds” https://t.co/GHG2Pady5M
— Metal Hammer (@MetalHammer) June 19, 2023
Spotify has become the method of choice for many music listeners, as the app’s relative ease of access and low expense make it a preferable place to keep music collections close at hand. This has not however, prevented the company from drawing criticism- especially from bands concerning how the app pays musicians for their work and how it allegedly gives preferential treatment to AI generated songs.
Dani Filth is having none of it, citing the digital age for a lot of bands either not making it at all or succumbing to the pressures that streaming places on many. Speaking about the industry in the modern era, Filth said, “it’s been deteriorating ever since…I think 2006 was the year that everything swapped from being comfortable for musicians-well, not necessarily comfortable, it was never comfortable. But [it went to] just being a lot harder with the onset of the digital age, the onset of music streaming platforms that don’t pay anybody.”
Arguably, and Filth certainly does point out, that the music industry has never been a necessarily friendly place for musicians. Prior to the digital boom, record companies often found themselves on the sharp ends of artist’s opinions, with many musicians even opting to form their own independent labels over the past few decades, to give artists more creative control over their projects.
Filth particularly reserved ire for Spotify who he says cheats artists out of a wage, claiming, “I think we had 25, 26 million plays last year, and I think personally I got about 20 pounds, which is less than an hourly work rate…I think people just have this amazing ability to [believe] that when you have stuff out there, like physical product, that you’re earning a fortune from it. They don’t realise you have so many people taking pieces of the pie…”
He also argued his belief that the post-pandemic and cost of living crisis has deterred many bands from touring-the expense just not worth it. With the ability to download music, many artists face not getting paid for their work, or at least not what they may deserve.
Filth has certainly opened up the floor to an interesting debate and one that will surely rage on, with almost everyone involved having an opinion. With more and more musicians looking to maximise their worth, who can tell what the future holds for the industry.
Last year, Cradle of Filth released new song “She is a Fire,” in anticipation of the release of their live album Trouble and their Double Lives. The band are currently working on what will be their 14th studio album.
