Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has sparked backlash from the creative community after claiming that creating “content” costs “close to zero.”
“Today, with the cost of creating content being close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content,” Ek recently tweeted, drawing criticism for suggesting that creative works like music are merely “content.” Continuing, he wrote, “While much of what we see and hear quickly becomes obsolete, there are timeless ideas or even pieces of music that can remain relevant for decades or even centuries.”
From there, Ek mused about which ideas would have a “long shelf life” a la Stoicism. Read the full tweet below.
In response to Ek’s comments, musicians, record labels, fans, and more have spoken out, reminding us that the cost of being a working musician in today’s world is certainly not “close to zero.”
The Future of Music Coalition responded, “It actually can still be expensive to make records, especially if you care about paying your collaborators fairly” and added, “Many musicians are skilled at cutting corners to accomplish their creative goals within limited budgets. And indeed some aspects of production are more affordable than in the past. But this often ends up radically overstated.”
Meanwhile, L’islet Records called “bullsh!t,” saying, “Artists & bands spend huge amounts of time & resources learning their craft, acquiring equipment, rehearsing, writing, recording, employing producers/mixers etc.”
Between gear, studio time, touring expenses, opportunity cost, and more, the numbers are increasingly not in musicians’ favor — just look at Consequence’s Balance Sheet series, which gives an idea of the reality many musicians are facing.
Ek’s comments come off as particularly tone deaf because Spotify has just formalized their latest price hikes while introducing a new royalty model that appears to entail paying songwriters $150 million less in its first year.
Today, with the cost of creating content being close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content. This has sparked my curiosity about the concept of long shelf life versus short shelf life. While much of what we see and hear quickly becomes obsolete, there are…
— Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) May 29, 2024
Many musicians are skilled at cutting corners to accomplish their creative goals within limited budgets. And indeed some aspects of production are more affordable than in the past. But this often ends up radically overstated.
“Close to zero?” No.
— Future of Music Coalition (@future_of_music) May 29, 2024
Bullsh!t!
Recently the CEO of @spotify Daniel Elk @eldsjal proclaimed on social media “Today, with the cost of creating content being close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content.“
We respectfully suggest this statement is total bullhit! Artists & bands… pic.twitter.com/utSRZCeV7o
— L’islet Records (@lisletrecords) June 1, 2024