Whilst mulling the latest Spotify story, this time of Paul McCartney’s streaming services takedown, I got to thinking about just how great a role direct-to-fan (D2F) services could play in broadening the fan experience around music and how it could also solve – or at least contribute heavily towards – this image problem streaming services currently have with artists in particular. Spotify – as ever, being the dominant platform news-wise – is an excellent case in point. Despite various major label execs coming out in support of them (and indeed other streaming platforms), artists in particular are not necessarily buying in. Some are, but as long as you have high profile detractors like Black Keys, you have a problem here. The majors owning a stake in Spotify handed artists a stick to beat them with amid accusations that labels are lining their own pockets and not passing sufficient revenues back to their bands – and if anything that argument appears to be gaining traction. This then, is a perfect example where the integration of D2F services may help provide not only a superior experience for fans, but also go some way to fixing Spotify’s PR issue around their support for [...]
Whilst mulling the latest Spotify story, this time of Paul McCartney’s streaming services takedown, I got to thinking about just how great a role direct-to-fan (D2F) services could play in broadening the fan experience around music and how it could also solve – or at least contribute heavily towards – this image problem streaming services currently have with artists in particular. Spotify – as ever, being the dominant platform news-wise – is an excellent case in point. Despite various major label execs coming out in support of them (and indeed other streaming platforms), artists in particular are not necessarily buying in. Some are, but as long as you have high profile detractors like Black Keys, you have a problem here. The majors owning a stake in Spotify handed artists a stick to beat them with amid accusations that labels are lining their own pockets and not passing sufficient revenues back to their bands – and if anything that argument appears to be gaining traction. This then, is a perfect example where the integration of D2F services may help provide not only a superior experience for fans, but also go some way to fixing Spotify’s PR issue around their support for [...]
