Spotify and The Costs of the Perfect Playlist

A Deeper Listen
Hosted by Emily Fox

Liz Pelly, author of Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist, talks through the practices at Spotify that have impacted independent musicians.

Subscribe Here:

Apple PodcastsGoogle Podcasts Overcast Podcasts  Pocket Casts  Spotify

photo by Felix Walworth

Liz Pelly, author of Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist, talks through the many practices at Spotify over the years that have impacted independent musicians — from outsourcing stock music Spotify pays a lower royalty rate for and flooding Spotify's in-house playlists with that stock music, to paying artists a 30% lower royalty rate in exchange for promotion on Spotify.

Then, guitarist and independent musician Lance Allen talks about how he was able to pay off his mortgage and buy a car off Spotify royalties and how he’s continued to find success on the music streaming service.

More From A Deeper Listen

KEXP’s Dusty Henry, Martin Douglas, and Larry Mizell, Jr. discuss the Wu-Tang Clan’s farewell concert tour, The Final Chamber.

Marlon Williams, singer-songwriter from New Zealand, talks about his new album, written entirely in the Indigenous language Te Reo Maori.

Dusty Henry teams up with his three-year-old daughter to drill down on the big themes for Cincinnati-based trio Artificial Go.