Posted by The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers has organised global protests against Spotify.
The streaming giant came under increased pressure during 2020, with high profile insight into its royalties exposing what many deemed to be unfair methods of paying musicians.
With the UK parliament organising a committee into the process, Spotify is coming under pressure on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers organised a series of global protests yesterday (March 16th) at Spotify offices around the world, calling for increased transparency in their business methods.
The union wants to obtain a user-centric payment model, raising the price of a single stream to one cent, alongside an end to lawsuits filed against musicians.
The protests took place at 10 Stateside cities, alongside sites in Australia, Europe, Asia, Central and South America.
The Justice at Spotify campaign launched in October 2020, and has since gained around 28,000 signatures from artists and other members of the music industry.
In a statement, UMAW organizer Mary Regalado – who is also a member of Downtown Boys – comments:
“Spotify has long mistreated music workers, but the pandemic has put the exploitation into stark relief… The company has tripled in value during the pandemic, while failing to increase its payment rates to artists by even a fraction of a penny. Musicians all over the world are unemployed right now while the tech giants dominating the industry take in billions. Music work is labour, and we are asking to be paid fairly for that labour.”
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