Do you know which artists get your money?


After several months of hardwork and dedication we're thrilled to announce our new initiative! Deezer has launched a new website to show users how we want to make streaming music fairer for everyone by implementing a User-Centric Payment System, UCPS. We are aiming to launch our new payment mode early next year to give the power to subscribers to decide where their money goes. With UCPS, your monthly payments go to the artists you listen to, rather than the current market share-based system.



Access our simulator on our special UCPS website - www.deezer.com/ucps. You’ll be able to discover your top five artists and exactly how much of your Deezer subscription is paid out to the acts you love.



Share below any questions you may have and join in the conversation on social media with the hashtag #MakeStreamingFair.



Let's make an impact in the music industry and get music streaming fairer for everyone!



Hi drgorogbalazs e ClassicMetal, you guys asked for it! 🙂
#gamechanger love it!
Can't wait! A bright future for underground artists
I don't understand the model .


Didn't artists get paid based on streaming numbers until now ?


If I don't listen to a specific artist why this artist get paid anyway ?
Hey @Noam Asulin





Imagine all the money users pay goes in a pot, which belongs to the streaming service. Then this streaming service takes all of those funds and pay the labels/distributors, according to the number of streams their artists get - if their artists get a lot of streams, they get more money. So majority of what you pay goes towards artists with the most streams, not necessarily the ones you may listen to.





We want to break with that, to make it fair for all artists, so that fans can support them directly.
Hey @Noam Asulin





Imagine all the money users pay goes in a pot, which belongs to the streaming service. Then this streaming service takes all of those funds and pay the labels/distributors, according to the number of streams their artists get - if their artists get a lot of streams, they get more money. So majority of what you pay goes towards artists with the most streams, not necessarily the ones you may listen to.





We want to break with that, to make it fair for all artists, so that fans can support them directly.






Thx for the explanation . I didn't know it's like that and your explanation made it clearer .


Cheers Rudi
Amazing idea, no doubt!

I'm very pleased to hear about this and very surprised that it wasn't the case yet. 

If ones buy a CD from an underground artist, the royalties don't go to a mainstream one. 

Therefore, it is totally normal that our money goes to the artists we listen to. 

 

Better late than never 😉

 


Fantastique!


Has this initiative launched already? If not is there a set date?


Hi @beekpres cool that you are interested, too :slight_smile:

Deezer is working on launching a UCPS pilot this year but in order to do so we need all of our record label partners to agree. The discussions are positive, but not finished yet. Therefore, we do not have a set date yet.


I’d like to know how the length of pieces does play into this. I like ambient and drones, there tracks are often longer than usual, even just one track per “CD”.

Now if I listen to such an album I may spend more time with artist Droner, than with Shorter, who may be singles and EP oriented. That would mean, Droner may have got 3 plays, but I spent 3 hours with them, Shorter got 6 plays but I spent just about 10 minutes with them.

For Droner we also have got the strange issue that some of his one hour long albums may be listed as singles and EPs just based upon the number of tracks.

 

Yes, I acknowledge that … it’s complicated. :)


Hi @beekpres cool that you are interested, too :slight_smile:

Deezer is working on launching a UCPS pilot this year but in order to do so we need all of our record label partners to agree. The discussions are positive, but not finished yet. Therefore, we do not have a set date yet.

Yes, this will be a deal breaker for many.

On Spotify and Google Music I heard so much edm music, but because hard dance is not popular, from my subscription I compensated streams of popular names I do not listen like Dual Lipa.

Let’s say your model is online at my birthday later this year.

I am glad my subscription will go to actually what I listen:

Refuzion, Da Tweekaz, DJ THT, Bass Modulators and Justin Corza.

It is fair game, I know to support exactly what I stream.

So they pay from my personal pool, but I have one question. I listen TREMENDOUS amount of music. Hard dance music. 191 streams per day on average. That is 5921 streams a month.

I paid €9,99 a month. Will my listened artists get almost nothing? Compared to someone who streams on average let’s say 19 tracks a day and 589 streams a month? Thanks.


For Droner we also have got the strange issue that some of his one hour long albums may be listed as singles and EPs just based upon the number of tracks.

I am sorry, thus was OT in this thread. I just also learned that this is actually decided by the uploader.

 


Ok, my opinion in this matter may not be important, but as a user, I absolutely love this idea! I was considering changing my music streaming provider (sorry guys at Deezer), but after hearing this I’ve decided to stay. I listen to indie artists a lot, and it really grinds my gears when my money goes to big names instead of my favourites.

Please Deezer make it happen!

It should also be in your advertisement campaign somewhere. Like- “support Your favourite artists”, or “support only the artists YOU love” sth like this. I only discovered this initiative, by listening to some obscure German podcast for music production.

Greetings from Germany

Simon


Thanks a lot for the honest feedback @Szymon Banaś we really appreciate it!

I also personally like the ad suggestion - even though the idea is to do what we think is fair, rather than using it as publicity. The pandemic slowed a few things down but this is our headline project, we'll keep pushing through.

Here at Deezer, we're small, but we're passionate about music and we're committed to 110% with what we have :thumbsup_tone2:


I’d like to know how the length of pieces does play into this. I like ambient and drones, there tracks are often longer than usual, even just one track per “CD”.

Now if I listen to such an album I may spend more time with artist Droner, than with Shorter, who may be singles and EP oriented. That would mean, Droner may have got 3 plays, but I spent 3 hours with them, Shorter got 6 plays but I spent just about 10 minutes with them.

For Droner we also have got the strange issue that some of his one hour long albums may be listed as singles and EPs just based upon the number of tracks.

 

Yes, I acknowledge that … it’s complicated. :)


Completely agree. I listen to a lot of electronic, jazz and classical, a majority of which have longer tracks than a majority of pop. Minutes played could be a better measure rather than plays. If you play a track almost to the end and then skip back to almost the start repeatedly is that one play. The idea of UCPS should have been it from the start, but better late than never, especially in this covid climate.


The pandemic slowed down our plans in France, where we're planning to start this "revolution" but we'll keep on taking strides towards it! It's the future we want for the industry :relaxed:


In this future model where your payments goes to music you actually listen.

So they pay from my personal pool, but I have one question. I listen TREMENDOUS amount of music. Hard dance music. 191 streams per day on average. That is 5921 streams a month.

I paid €7,99 a month for long. Will my listened artists get almost nothing? Compared to someone who streams on average let’s say 19 tracks a day and 589 streams a month? Thanks.


In this future model where your payments goes to music you actually listen.

So they pay from my personal pool, but I have one question. I listen TREMENDOUS amount of music. Hard dance music. 191 streams per day on average. That is 5921 streams a month.

I paid €7,99 a month for long. Will my listened artists get almost nothing? Compared to someone who streams on average let’s say 19 tracks a day and 589 streams a month? Thanks.


Wowza, that is a lot of streams :bow:

Question, if deezer switched to this type of schema, if you could make voluntary payments that 100% of went to the artists you listened to would you?

I suppose the problem with proposing something like that is 100% probably would end up with the artist, I’m sure the labels would skim some/a lot off the top.


Fair point @bytesnz 

But all labels take their share. In return they get the artist promoted, they arrange the whole setting to allow the artist to perform and record their content.

I guess that supporting the independent labels, for instance, make for a fairer music industry :thumbsup_tone2:


Fair point @bytesnz 

But all labels take their share. In return they get the artist promoted, they arrange the whole setting to allow the artist to perform and record their content.

I guess that supporting the independent labels, for instance, make for a fairer music industry :thumbsup_tone2:

I like the idea of supporting little artists and labels.

The problem is, at Deezer main page, I see too much of chart music.

I hope you will bring personal recommendations and a lot more than it is now.

I don’t know any better support than showing users albums, artists or songs they might like based on what they listen and a lot more than now. I mean a lot more. This is time for things.

I listen only underground hard dance and rap music on Deezer Premium!


Totally agree with you, it's important to have that option @hpguru 
Deezer is aligned with that too, we want to make our homepage more personalised, so we're starting a project with Audiobooks first.

Stay tuned, we'll need your feedback when we get there!


Hey @Noam Asulin

Imagine all the money users pay goes in a pot, which belongs to the streaming service. Then this streaming service takes all of those funds and pay the labels/distributors, according to the number of streams their artists get - if their artists get a lot of streams, they get more money. So majority of what you pay goes towards artists with the most streams, not necessarily the ones you may listen to.

We want to break with that, to make it fair for all artists, so that fans can support them directly.

It's kind of sad that that's how it works. Streaming should be more fair to all artists. Thank you to the Deezer team to take such steps to change. 


That's one of the ways we want to make a difference with, @RiveDroite thank you for your support! :relaxed: