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Hi Deezer,

I read that Deezer is implementing a new royalty payment system for artists with UMG. 

Initially, I was really supportive of Deezer’s groundbreaking approach with UCPS. It helps to reduce the stream dilution in the current system and people gaming the system with fake streams.

 

But the thing is… the newly announced royalty system ain’t it,. I’m happy to know that Deezer is recognizes that the current one is flawed as white noise cannot be paid on the same rate as a real studio quality original composition and production.  The level of knowledge, artistry, creativity, hard work, talent to work on every single word and every single second in the lyrics and instrument production is not on par with white noise. I’m happy to know that this issue is being addressed and real artists can be paid more fairly.

 

The other thing is the doubling of royalty rate for established artists with 1000 streams and 500 monthly listeners is really unnecessary and appalling. By doing this, we’re taking away the little bit of money from the new artists without the a massive fan base and giving it to the artists at the top of their games. Needless to mention, the pay per stream rate is already abysmally low.

 

As an artist with about a hundred monthly listeners, this is really unacceptable. Rising new artists need the most exposure and support at the beginning stages of their music careers. They shouldn’t be disadvantaged to a lower royalty rate. It makes it even harder for artists to reach their minimum threshold of $11 before they can withdraw their earnings. 

 

One thing that we can do is to stop accepting sub-standard or AI generated content. There has to be a more stringent process for reviewing and approving new music by a panel of professional musicians before they can appear on streaming platforms. 

 

I know that it’s not easy to “break out” as a musician. I put in all the hard work, time and money for purchasing  instruments, daws,  studio rentals and mixing and mastering and most importantly, social media promotion. I don’t make a single cent out of this. I’m happy to be doing music and releasing my music to the world.  I’m not blaming anybody for everything that I put in but I feel that it’s totally fundamentally wrong to be taking that bit of money and giving to the established acts. And also uncomfortable to know that my music is treated as noise or “lower level content” . 

 

As a paying Deezer customer from 2014, Deezer opened up my world and exposed me to listen and discover music of different genres, nurtured my passion for music and inspired me to become a musician myself. I really enjoyed the flow feature, hifi quality music, artist curated playlists, minimalistic interface and mp3 feature (that allows me to upload my own music demos and music from artists not on streaming platforms) .

Unfortunately,  I cannot support this flawed payment system as an artist and Deezer user. I will be taking down my music and unsubscribing when my annual plan ends. 

 

Jian Wei

Hi @Mikee Laughing, Deezer has developed a comprehensive program for emerging artists to increase reach and deepen engagement, including playlisting, artist showcases, various audio and video formats within and beyond the app (think Deezer Sessions) as well as strategic marketing investments tailored to promote specific events or artists - including Deezer Next.

 

What distinguishes Deezer from its peers in the music streaming realm is the chance it offers emerging artists for added promotional exposure through our B2B partners, like Orange, Sonos and Mercado Libre.

Our commitment to innovation, coupled with our global reach, enables us to facilitate the entry of local and national artists into new markets.

 

Our approach isn't a fleeting encounter; rather, it's a narrative that revolves around accentuating the distinct brand of emerging artists.

We provide a platform for their creativity to shine through, leveraging our extensive expertise in editorial excellence, artist marketing, and user engagement.

 

For example, with Deezer Next, Deezer has championed up and coming artists and have supported the rise of national and international stars like Angele (2017), Jorja Smith (2017), Lewis Capaldi (2019), Rosalia (2020), Yseult (2020).

For 2023 and beyond we have new Deezer Next activation's in the making. 

 

In addition to Deezer Next, we also have a comprehensive program to support and highlight upcoming artists, through playlisting, video sessions, social media content and showcases.

One of the latest up and coming artists we’re supporting this way is Arlo Parks.


Regarding your second point, the artist centric approach is designed to be applied to all music providers and artists. Our goal is that all genuine artists who attract a consistent and engaged fan base will benefit from this model, no matter if they are signed to a major or independent label or distribute music independently. We are working with other labels, majors, indies, and distributors on this topic and we aim to have more music providers on board in the near future. We have several other labels signing up to the new model as we speak, and therefore we expect to have more content providers on board by the time we start. Our intention is to have achieved a full rollout with all providers and countries in 2024.

Rewarding active engagement will work as an incentive for artists to keep engaging with their fanbase and this will in turn contribute to higher engagement on Deezer overall. Fans who are active on the platform will begin to discover new artists through Deezer’s recommendation technology  and editorial selection and this way we can also help make the music ecosystem thrive and support the discovery of new artists..

It is available for all artists no matter if they reach the threshold or not. All tracks that are found and listened to through search and non-algorithmic playlists will receive this boost.

 

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