Spotify Denies 'Trik 30 Seconds' Can Make Rich Artists

Spotify (Photo: Unsplash)

JAKARTA - Spotify denies claims that users can repeatedly listen to 30-second songs they upload to receive monthly royalty payments.

As the BBC News reports, financial analysts at JP Morgan previously claimed that streaming service subscribers could earn $1.200 per month by listening to their songs repeatedly for 24 hours a day.

A clear-looking trick shows that Spotify's royalty payment structure can be manipulated.

However, music platform CEO Daniel Ek is now saying that application royalties don't work like that.

This theory was first reported in the Financial Times. On September 11, Julian Klymochko, founder of Canadian-based investment firm Accelerate, tweeted a screenshot of the article.

"According to JP Morgan, if someone uploads his 30-second song to Spotify, and then attaches his phone to listen to it repeatedly 24 hours a day, they will receive a royalty of 1,200 US dollars per month," he wrote.

In response to the post, Ek said: "If that's true, my own playlist will only repeat Daniel's 30-second Jam!"

"But seriously, our royalty system doesn't work like that."

A label owner replied Ek, writing: This is not how your royalties system works directly, but a 30-second deadline for accepting payments makes the song tend to be shorter, and 'TikTok parts' are usually 31 seconds long.

Ek then explained: Yes, some songs are shorter. However, most popular songs are still about 4 minutes long.

Based on the Financial Times article, JP Morgan executives estimate that as much as 10 percent of all streaming is fake. This comes amid concerns that made streaming that allows devices to play certain songs over and over has an impact on the music industry.

Spotify currently has two royalties, with artists being paid once a month. This figure can vary according to the different way their music is streamed or the agreement they have with labels or distributors', according to the official streamer website.

"Contrary to what you may have heard, Spotify doesn't pay artist royalties based on playback or streaming rates," he said.

Recently, Universal Music Group and Deezer announced that they will work together to launch a music streaming model aimed at generating greater royalties for artists. With this approach, action will be paid more if customers actively choose to listen to their songs.

As a result, Spotify, Apple Music, and other major platforms may be forced to revise their own models.