This is a folk song in the tradition of those who came before us to fight for the rights of the average person. In this case, it is the average musician.
Pandora, Spotify and the rest, tell us that they are providing exposure, what they are really doing, is paying less than a penny-per-stream, while they make a very nice living off of our art.
When artists 'cover' a song (think Elvis, it's about all he did), we have to pay a penny per stream royalty just for the right to cover it, plus money to record it, distribute it, but Pandora and Spotify pay less than that same penny to us for our work, and the money is also split between the songwriter and publisher of the song (who we paid with our money for the right to cover).
Artists lose money for every cover they do!
The "new" music biz boss, same as the old boss.
lyrics
Artist's Lament (Streaming Sweatshops)
I won’t let Pandora Pimp Me Out no more
I won’t let Spotify, Make Me their whore
Built streaming sweatshops, tell me I’m in on ground floor
The way they work, I won’t get paid any more
You know I used to love it
But the music’s over now
No one wants to pay for songs any more
They listen for free, use bitTorrent and Tor
They tell me to play live and live in motels
Most live clubs are closed and busking is hell.
You know I used to love it
But the music’s over now
I write my own and want to play cover songs
One million streams cost me Ten Grand that’s wrong
They don’t pay artists, pretend that they do
Play along they say, and you’ll get your due
You know I used to love it
But the music’s over now
Club owners tell us we must pay to play
You know when I leave I won’t be back this way
The new music business, same as the old
The artists sleep on couches, left out in the cold.
You know I used to love it
But the music’s over now
I won’t let Pandora Pimp Me Out no more
I won’t let Spotify, Make Me their whore
Built streaming sweatshops, tell me I’m in on ground floor
The way they work, I won’t get paid any more
You know I used to love it
But the music’s over now
You know I used to love it
But the music’s over now
I won't let Pandora pimp me out no more...
copyright 2014 Richard H. McCargar
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