Rdio’s bankrupcty reminds artists that they need to diversify
Rdio is going through bankruptcy.
Rdio is a streaming platform like Spotify or Apple Music. It had roughly 100,000 paying subscribers, and most of it’s success was in France. Entertainment Weekly rated it the best music platform in 2013. In the end, Rdio couldn’t competed.
While I’m undiscovered artist, I still noticed few 100 spins accumulating through Rdio each year. Not much, but every royalty check included a bit of Rdio spins.
Until 2015.
I haven’t received a payout from Rdio through my distributor all year. I’m not worried about the pennies, but here’s a thought:
As I review my accounting, I wonder how many artists also haven’t seen any payouts from Rdio this year? Some might have accumulated more meaningful numbers. Some of those payments would have been a songwriter’s rent, grocery bill, or at least a cup of coffee for the day.
Consumers are moving more quickly to streaming than buying, but artists are trusting in companies that offer those our music to stream to stay in business. Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora, Tidal, Youtube Red–this is one big experiment. An inevitable part of doing business is occasionally you don’t get paid what you earned, for varying circumstances.
More and more artists are independently putting out their music, more and more are becoming mini-businesses, which face the ups and downs of business.
Be prepared.
Artists need own their art (and their careers), which means diversifying incomes. The music industry changes every four years, often with little warning. If you put your eggs in few baskets, you are only as stable as your worst client.
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