- Written by Ruth Comerford
- bbc news
image source, Getty Images
Spotify's chief has denied claims that users can earn monthly royalties by repeatedly listening to 30-second songs they upload.
Financial analysts at JPMorgan previously said Spotify subscribers could earn up to $1,200 (£960) a month by listening to a song on repeat for 24 hours.
This claim suggests that Spotify's royalty payment structure may be manipulated.
But the streaming giant's CEO, Daniel Ek, says that's not how the platform's royalties work.
“If that were true, my own playlist would just be 'Daniel's 30 Second Jam' on repeat!” Ek tweeted in response.
“But seriously, that's not at all how our loyalty system works.
According to the Financial Times, JPMorgan executives estimate that up to 10% of all streams are fake, and synthetic streaming (where devices play selected tracks on a loop) is holding the music industry back. Concerns have been raised.
Just last week, Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet reported that criminal organizations were using Spotify's loyalty system to launder money from drug deals.
According to Spotify's website, Spotify has two tiers of royalties that are paid to artists once a month, but the amount artists receive may vary.
“Contrary to what you may have heard, Spotify does not pay artists royalties on a per-play or per-stream basis,” the website states.
“The royalty payments artists receive may vary depending on how their music is streamed and their agreements with labels and distributors.”
Universal Music Group and Deezer recently announced that they are jointly launching a music streaming model aimed at generating more royalties for artists. This means that users will be paid more if they actively choose to listen to music.
This could mean other streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music will be forced to adjust their own models.
