“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.

Jon Hicks

The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.

Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”

https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/

obrhoff

@jonhicks @nevyn For someone who used to work for them. Whats your personal feeling about the whole direction Spotify has taken?

hiphopheaven

@jonhicks it is a shame that funkwale does not have a way to allow artists to get money by donations or subscriptions

Adrian Thomas

@jonhicks Silver lining – the cheap bastards will probably start algorithmically prioritising unknown artists they don’t have to pay…

Enea Lecas

@jonhicks thanks for calling that out. They're adopting a business model similar to the one of YouTube, where one needs 1000 subscribers and >4000 watched hours per year in order to be monetized. And the majority of YouTubers are not able to reach it. Indeed theft, as some people pointed out. Or exploitation. In any case, such business practices should have no place in our society.

inpc

@jonhicks anyone using Spotify is a cunt.

Sarah

@jonhicks@mastodon.social

A friend of mine had their music on spotify for a while, quite the popular band. Tens of thousands of plays.

His royalty was so meager the transfer fees in banks would eat the profits.

I'd rather give my music away for free.

Cleverson

@andrewleland @jonhicks Terrifying. Those big services are more inhumane than ever.

Oma_Trisha_F

@jonhicks

Shit. I guess it's time to see if I can find another streaming service that plays what I like to listen to and doesn't cost more than I can afford.

Ryek Darkener

@jonhicks

So Spotify is a platform for mainstream-music? I’m not surprised.

In Germany we say: The devil shits on the highest heap.

jer

@jonhicks fewer

M☆

@jonhicks Could you share your source please? The article linked doesn't seem to even mention Spotify (unless it was edited?)

�

@_RyekDarkener_ @jonhicks that's why the white house is expanding

John Maxwell

@jonhicks "But we have to have copyright for the sake of the creators!"

devolute

@jonhicks Steal everything. Go to gigs.

MegatronicThronBanks

@jonhicks BandCamp

🇨🇦 Maverick ✊🇲🇲🇺🇦

@jonhicks Not going to be a popular comment here because it’s so cool to hate on Apple, but Apple Music pays about double to artists compared with Spotify and doesn’t have a free tier (so *all* listens are paid). Still better to support your favourite artists directly but Apple Music is clearly better than Spotify in this regard. Always has been.

Jon Hicks

@devolute or… buy physical media AND go to gigs AND stream as well?

devolute

@jonhicks Music is too important to rely on someone else's trickles down from a cloud.

Jon Hicks

@obrhoff @nevyn the core problem of Spotify has always been there - that they took advantage of an industry worried about Napster. I’ve always justified using it because I buy music as well, but not with decisions like adverts for ICE and investing in Helsing AI .

My work with them was quite brief in the end - I think my icons only lasted a year before they replaced them with thin iOS 7 style ones!