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Evilbob93 t1_j2nh8k8 wrote

This is basically the opposite of the argument that the "record" companies make today.
When the big music companies get up in arms about music piracy, it's not often acknowledged that being paid multiple times for one performance wasn't always a thing. It's only been a thing for a hundred years or so.
I have long suspected that sometime in the early parts of the 1900s, someone must have written something about it. i suspected i would find it in the letters to the editor of some scanned newspaper, but finding that there was a whole movement about it really confirms it for me.
New rabbit hole to explore, now that i know the name i am looking for.

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Loive t1_j2of0p1 wrote

I have a neighbor who co-wrote a hit song for one of the biggest boy bands in the 1990’s. After she had proven herself as a songwriter she got a record contract as a performer, and has had pretty good success. She still does the occasional record and tour, and is on TV sometimes.

She told me about it when we heard the boy band song on the radio in my backyard. That song has paid for everything in her life since it became a hit. All of her income from her own records and tours have gone into her retirement fund. The income took a hit when Spotify became a thing, but she still gets enough money to get by from streaming and YouTube. She lives a fairly normal middle class life (except she only works a 2-3 months every few years) based on two days of work she did in the mid 1990’s.

While she is a really nice person, it’s totally bizarre that someone could earn a lifetime of money in two days. I don’t think it’s possible to make that kind of mom today without record sales and 24 hour music TV, but for a few decades, there was serious bank to be made for those who had the skill and luck to get into the business.

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Evilbob93 t1_j3026fx wrote

Writing a hit song is definitely a license to print money for someone. It gets its own stream that only goes to one place, basically. A given performance isn't compensated nearly as well because it has to be split between more than one person usually.

You could still make that, but it's harder to get something that has staying power or that stands out that much. Oh yeah, and lawyers.

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Loive t1_j30uhun wrote

The most streamed song ever on Spotify is Blinding Lights by The Weeknd, with 3.3 billion streams. Only that one and Shape of You by Ed Sheeran has reached 3 billion streams, so they are the heaviest hitters with a wide margin.

Payment per stream varies a bit, but on average it is 0.004 cents per stream. That means Blinding Lights has earned about 13 million dollars on Spotify. The record company has of course taken a big share of that, while the rest would be split between the 5 writers. Thus the would end up with about $2 million each, before taxes. Certainly good sum of money, but not enough to live on for the rest of your life.

There are of course more streaming services, but they are all smaller than Spotify so there might be about the same amount coming from them if you add it all up.

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