The music industry today faces serious problems and affects everyone from artists. Music is in trouble. Artists can’t make money. Fans pay more than ever. Something isn’t right. Let’s break down why. Remember buying CDs? Those days are gone. Now we pay monthly fees to Spotify or Apple Music. This seems great for listeners. But it’s terrible for musicians. Artists get almost nothing from streams. They earn about $0.004 per play.
That means a million streams might only pay $4,000. And the artist doesn’t even keep all of that money. Labels and managers take their cut too. Even a million streams might only generate a few thousand dollars, which gets split between the artist, record label, publishers, and others. For comparison, selling just 100 physical albums or downloading concert buddies. In the past, an artist could earn more money than hundreds of thousands of streams today.
The Big Labels Still Control To Much Power
Three big companies run most of the music: Universal, Sony, and Warner. They own all the old songs. They control who gets on playlists. They decide who gets famous. These labels offer awful deals to artists. Most musicians sign anyway. They feel they have no choice. The labels know this and keep offering bad contracts.
These major labels often offer deals that heavily favor themselves over the artists. Many musicians sign contracts that give away most of their rights and earnings. While some big stars can have better terms, most artists lack the power to push back against unfair deals.
Playing Live Music Challenges
Musicians tried making money from live shows instead. But that’s hard too. Tickets are expensive because of fees. Running tours costs too much. Small venues keep closing down. Covid made everything worse. Many music venues shut forever. Only big stars make real money from shows now.
For years, musicians have relied more on live performances to make money as album sales declined. But this model has its own problems. High ticket fees from companies like Ticketmaster make shows expensive for fans. Many venues closed permanently, and the industry is still recovering. While big artists can still sell out arenas, smaller and mid-level musicians often struggle to make touring profitable.
Playlists Rule Music
Getting on Spotify playlists is everything now. Artists write songs just to please the algorithms. They make boring, safe music that sounds like everything else.
Independent artists can’t get on big playlists. You need a major label for that. Or you have to pay someone who knows the right people.
Social Media Is Killing Artists
Musicians must be online personalities now. They spend more time on TikTok than making music. Labels care more about follower counts than talent.
Artists are tired. They can’t keep up with demands for constant content. Many burn out trying to go viral. This forces musicians to split their focus between making music and creating shareable content, often leading to burnout.
The Death of the Middle Class Musician
You used to be able to make decent money as an average musician. Not anymore. Now you’re either a superstar or broke. This creates a system where musicians either “make it big” or can barely survive on their art. Many talented artists need to keep day jobs or quit music entirely.
They can’t earn enough to live on, despite having loyal but modest-sized followings. Good artists quit because they can’t pay rent. They have loyal fans but still need day jobs. The middle ground doesn’t exist anymore.
AI Makes Things Scarier
Computers can make music now. They can copy artists’ voices. Real musicians worry they’ll be replaced. The rise of artificial intelligence in music creation poses new challenges. AI can now generate songs, melodies, and even simulate artists’ voices. While this technology has creative potential, it also threatens to devalue human musicians’ work further.
Some worry that AI-generated music could flood streaming platforms or replace human musicians in certain contexts. Record labels use AI to pick hit songs. They play it safe instead of taking chances on new sounds.
Bad Bookkeeping Hurts Everyone
The industry can’t keep track of who made what. Writers and producers often don’t get paid. No one knows who owns which parts of songs.
Session musicians get ignored. Background singers don’t get credit. It’s a mess that costs artists money.
What Can Be Done?
The music industry’s problems are complex, but there are some potential solutions:
- More transparent and fair streaming payment systems could help artists earn living wages from their music. Some services are experimenting with user-centric payment models that could distribute money more fairly.
- Better organization and advocacy by musicians could help push back against unfair industry practices. Unions and collective action might force positive changes in contracts and payment structures.
- New technologies like blockchain could help solve some metadata and payment tracking problems, ensuring creators get properly credited and paid for their work.
- Support for independent music infrastructure – including venues, labels, and distribution systems – could help create alternatives to the major label system.
- Education for musicians about business and legal matters could help them avoid exploitative deals and better manage their careers.
What Happens Next?
People will always love music. That won’t change. But the industry needs to change. Artists deserve to make a living from their work. The key question is whether these changes will finally start benefiting artists as much as. They benefit tech companies and major labels.
Right now, it’s broken. Musicians suffer while big companies get rich. Until that changes, we’ll keep losing good artists who simply can’t afford to make music anymore.
Sameer Seo 
Prime Star 
Qamer Javed