> I've yet to see any of these discussions to blame both.
Perhaps because they are outside the context of this discussion? For the purposes of this discussion, they are a constant, no matter what Spotify or Google does.
> And your own comment literally never mentions the Big Three.
I added a caveat to my "buying from the musicians directly" exactly because of publishers.
> Apple may have power over the industry, but they are an outlier.
Not exactly - they charge the same percentage as the other players in this space that I mentioned. No conspiracy theories required to point this out.
> Care to ask them where this money goes? No one ever dares to.
Sure, in articles about music producers (I recall more than a few hitting HN over the years, especially when Taylor Swift was raising a ruckus about them and Spotify).
> And the vast majority of popular music on the platform is likely to come from big publishers, not from indie aggregators.
> For the purposes of this discussion, they are a constant, no matter what Spotify or Google does.
That "constant" is the main reason artists don't get paid. And yet, only streaming services are blamed.
> added a caveat to my "buying from the musicians directly" exactly because of publishers
That's not a caveat. That is wishful thinking. How do you propose streaming services do that?
> they charge the same percentage as the other players in this space that I mentioned. No conspiracy theories required to point this out
Yes, they do charge the same. So it means that 60-65% of their revenue goes to rights holders.
But sure. "They are in on it with rights holders to rip artists off".
> Sure, in articles about music producers
There are very few such articles and most, like your comment, blame streaming services for paying artists too little even though streaming services have nothing to do with paying artists. It's the publishers/rights holders who do that.
Perhaps because they are outside the context of this discussion? For the purposes of this discussion, they are a constant, no matter what Spotify or Google does.
> And your own comment literally never mentions the Big Three.
I added a caveat to my "buying from the musicians directly" exactly because of publishers.
> Apple may have power over the industry, but they are an outlier.
Not exactly - they charge the same percentage as the other players in this space that I mentioned. No conspiracy theories required to point this out.
> Care to ask them where this money goes? No one ever dares to.
Sure, in articles about music producers (I recall more than a few hitting HN over the years, especially when Taylor Swift was raising a ruckus about them and Spotify).
> And the vast majority of popular music on the platform is likely to come from big publishers, not from indie aggregators.
I don't believe anybody is disputing that.