Local musicians ambivalent about benefits of streamed content
As Spotify and similar streaming music platforms gain a foothold in Asia, Hong Kong artists are in two minds about their benefits, writes Charley Lanyon
Hong Kong hip hop artist Masta Mic (real name Tong Sung-ching) is constantly hustling to get his music out to the people, and last month, he had a breakthrough. After extended negotiations, he got his music on the library of Spotify, one of the world's biggest music streaming services.
"It's a very good platform for artists promoting music in Hong Kong because people don't like to pay for things."
How can you say you're supporting artists when you're making the middle men rip them off?
But as pleased as he is, the exposure has its price. Although Masta Mic describes himself as a fan of Spotify, he can't keep his frustration bottled up for long: "Come on man, how can you say you're supporting artists when you're making the middle men rip them off?"
What the rapper is referring to are music aggregators. Spotify cannot make direct deals with musicians or labels, so to get their music on the library, artists must use aggregators - companies like Label Worx and Finetunes, which act as middle men. They provide the music to Spotify for a fee or a cut of the profit. Recording companies, too, must also employ a middleman, typically a music rights agency like Merlin, to deliver music through Spotify.
Masta Mic's feelings towards Spotify reflect in part the music industry's conflicted relationship with streamed content.
The growth of streaming services such as Rdio and Google Play All Access, which deliver audio content online through a continual flow digital "packets", is shaking up the music business.