Last.fm Starts Paying Royalties to Unsigned Bands

Last.fm Starts Paying Royalties to Unsigned Bands Published July 14, 2008

Last.fm announced today that it will pay out royalties to independent & unsigned artists. Last.fm had first announced this at the beginning of the year but it took until July to officially roll out its Artist Royalty Program.

Musicians that upload their music to the online music service will earn royalties when their music is played on-demand or streamed. However when uploading a song, artists must choose to opt into the Royalty Program. Though a premium subscription service is currently in beta, Last.fm has been ad-supported up until this point.

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In addition to providing a new avenue for independent musicians to earn money from their music, Last.fm’s Artist Royalty Program holds the potential to reshape the music industry landscape. By offering royalties to unsigned artists, Last.fm is challenging the dominance of major record labels and providing a platform for emerging talent to gain exposure. While some critics argue that the program’s license terms remain ambiguous, it is important to acknowledge that Last.fm’s initiative represents progress in empowering independent musicians and diversifying the revenue streams available to them. With the advent of digital platforms like Last.fm, artists now have more opportunities to connect directly with their audience and establish sustainable careers on their own terms.

This announcement has been met with mixed review. Merlin, the “world’s first global rights body for independent music,” has issued a statement to its 12,000+ members, addressing Last.fm’s failure to address its concerns about copyright infringement & the Royalty Program’s ambiguous license terms. It also seems unlikely that artists will make very much from these streaming royalties. Despite the objections, this is a great step forward as it gives independent musicians another way to make money from their music outside of the mainstream music business.

Sources:

1. Last.fm Starts Paying Royalties to Unsigned Bands. (July 14, 2008). Retrieved from https://www.last.fm/announcements/general/158