Here are the benefits of NOT releasing music on Spotify:
- Spotify pays very little in royalties, so artists can focus on other revenue streams instead. Spotify only pays about $0.0084 per stream, which amounts to roughly $8 for 1000 streams.
- Spotify’s royalty distribution model favors popular artists as it’s based on total plays rather than individual listener habits. This means more money flows to the top artists.
- Putting music on Spotify may require giving up some rights to the music. Some distribution services allow keeping 100% royalties, but not Spotify.
- Focusing on platforms other than Spotify allows building more direct connections with fans. This is important for artists in niche genres.
- Avoiding Spotify exclusivity deals provides flexibility to distribute music on other platforms and in other formats like vinyl.
In summary, since Spotify pays little and has an unfavorable royalty model, there are benefits to focusing on other platforms instead – it’s easier to protect music rights and build fan relationships, which is advantageous especially for smaller artists.