Even though the record labels wouldn’t make any money without the artists they represent, they are continuing to undervalue the thing that keeps them in business. UMG took shares in Spotify several years ago, but the problem of underpaid musicians is still rampant. Rolling Stone gets to the meat of this revelation: “Not just to Swift, but to all its artists.” So, what’s so groundbreaking about Swift’s new record deal? Well, the pop starlet’s new deal with Universal Music Group and Republic Records is coupled with an unprecedented provision: Swift’s label has promised to give a portion of their earnings from Spotify shares to its artists. What makes Swift’s new recording deal different? An image of Taylor Swift from her British Vogue cover | Taylor Swift via Instagram

This is a point of contention that Swift is hoping to rectify since the announcement of her new record deal has some pretty clear stipulations about the practice of how artists get paid from streaming services. Firstly, Spotify pays an average of less than a penny per play, and that money doesn’t go to the artists, it goes to the record labels. Artists see little to no revenue from their plays on Spotify. Swift’s crusade to take on Spotify soon revealed another problem–one that affected smaller artists at an exponentially higher rate. Swift–like everyone else in the music industry–saw Spotify as a platform that could hurt the music industry, stunting album sales and propagating the problem of piracy and disinterest in CDs. This power play was not merely a ploy to increase her net worth it was a rallying cry to artists everywhere that “ music should not be free” and that it was time to start valuing art again. You may remember that Swift suddenly pulled her entire library off Spotify’s streaming service back in November of 2014, but you may not know the underlying reasons. How? By negotiating a crazy unprecedented recording deal that once again brings Spotify into the spotlight for unfair artist payout practices. Despite being infamous for her girl squad and her feud with Katy Perry, she’s also on a mission to make the music industry better for artists.ĭon’t believe us? This year the 28-year-old R eputation country singer turned pop idle single-handedly changed the game for thousands of other musicians. She has a massive net worth, a rabid fanbase of ‘Swifties,’ and some serious clout in the entertainment industry. Taylor Swift is undeniably one of the top-grossing pop stars in the world. Taylor Swift keeps winning | Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Taylor swift spotify