We were very pleased to see this statement by Spotify’s in house economist Will Page (and sorry if we missed it before) :
“Copyright infringing websites are big businesses … 2/3 of piracy sites have advertising, and 1/3 also include credit card logons. This competition is real: consider how ad pricing is distorted by those unlicensed sites who offer more scale and no content costs.”
This is exactly what we’ve been saying and are glad that we can find some common ground between artists and streaming/webcasting services. Ad supported piracy reduces revenues for both artists and legitimate licensed services.
We’d also like to note that one Spotify executive pointed out to us the inconsistently in artists pulling their music from Spotify but keeping their music on YouTube.
They are both on-demand streaming services but YouTube is a much less artist friendly service. Artists don’t seem to realize these facts:
*Spotify appears to pay more than YouTube. A lot more (see my songwriting statement below).
*Spotify relies on licenses from rightsholders. Whereas YouTube often relies on the legally questionable premise that it’s “users” make the songs available on YouTube and thus aren’t responsible for getting a license.
* If artists control enough of their rights they can remove their music from Spotify. Try that with YouTube.
*YouTube is essentially the largest on-demand music streaming service. If Artists are being underpaid by these services the logical place to start is with YouTube not Spotify.
*YouTube sounds terrible compared to Spotify. It sounds like every song has a flanger on it. ( Sorry this is just my pet peeve.)
(Ed note: And then there is the matter that YouTube’s policies on comments and free speech. These allow YouTube to be a platform for every conceivable form of hatemongering. Do you really want your kids going to this site?)
The Trichordist 
The last time I looked YouTube was not a streaming platform but technically a download platform. The files are on your harddrive when playing, and there are several web apps/sites that offer to retrieve these files.
Yes, it is a common misunderstanding that youtube is a streaming platform. It is not. Even the GEMA does not seem to take the fact into account that youtube is indeed a download platform. And google is very keen on keeping this misapprehension alive…
A reminder for those who quickly forget history. The much maligned SOPA was based upon three predicates, two of which were advertising service providers and financial service providers. The article here lends credence to the recognition that the severing of money-making streams still remains the most effective means of addressing issues such as piracy.
*sigh*
When will you guys ever catch up with the rest of the music industry and realize that the primary aim of sites like Spotify/YouTube is not to make money, but to further publicize your music?
*sigh*
When will you realize that “it’s promotion” and “touring and t-shirts” are big tech lobby talking points used to rip off artists worse than record labels ever did? If everything is “for promotion” what is actually for profit?