We caught up with a handful of Cleveland artists to hear more about how they confront the divisive world of music streaming. Hear from Cleveland musician Molly O'Malley below, and a few other musicians here.
Streaming Earnings: In 2023, Cleveland dreampop musician Molly O’Malley earned between $300 and $400 altogether, from all streaming sites. It was the same year O’Malley independently released a new mixtape, the eight-track Noise Beyond the Mantle. She says payouts were better from Apple Music and Tidal than they were from Spotify. “Even though I’m a small artist and the pay isn’t astounding, I’m still able to pay some of my bills with my streaming money, which is nice,” O’Malley says.
Pros and Cons: The musician points out the convenience that streaming brings, especially from a listener perspective. “I love that everything is accessible,” O’Malley says. “I do think, also, having everything at the fingertips — it can undervalue some art. Not necessarily mine, but just generally speaking. The overconsumption thing where, if everything’s just easily available, they’re taking away the value, the feeling of it.”
Making Money: Most of O’Malley’s music earnings come from live performances — both ticket sales and merch, she says. And the ones who do use streaming to support her are conscious of the way money works its way to artists. “I am very grateful and very lucky. The people that listen to my music, they are the type that like to go on Bandcamp Friday — so I’ve made a good portion of my income from Bandcamp Fridays, and all the money is going directly to me,” O’Malley says.
(Bandcamp Friday is a promotion on Bandcamp where, on select days, the streaming site takes no cut of earnings from music sales, and instead pays most of a customer’s payment to artists.)
The Outlook: “I feel like I have to stay optimistic with these things,” O’Malley says.
But don’t get it twisted; it’s not a sunny kind of optimism. At some point, the musician believes the streaming world will transform, potentially introducing subscription-oriented streaming services or more sustainable agreements with content creators. “I like not to be a doomer, but it feels like this whole model is like a black hole sucking everything dry until we don’t have anything left. So then we're just gonna have to reinvent,” O’Malley explains. “It sounds doom and gloom, but also, I’m just hopeful for what comes after. After a storm, there’s a sunny day. I don’t know what that sunny day’s gonna be or look like, but I’m just optimistic it will come.”
The Bottom Line: Streaming is a way for O’Malley to connect with listeners, and she’ll continue using it to do that — and she encourages listeners to interact with music in whatever ways they’re able to, even if it’s through streaming.
“I feel like that’s what art’s about: sharing it with other people,” O’Malley says. “As far as the money goes with it, I don’t really think it’s necessarily the listeners’ fault, in that sense. Like, the listener isn't the head of Spotify, saying, ‘Hey, you don't get your money until somebody streams your song 1,000 times so we can get more money to major labels.’”
Read more Cleveland musicians' experiences with streaming sites here.
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