During a talk at the National Music Publishers Association’s yearly gathering in New York City, Apple Music’s top leader, Oliver Schusser, expressed his thoughts about the cost of music. He questioned why competing streaming services continue to offer free tiers, arguing that it undermines the value of music as an artistic expression.
During their conversation on Wednesday night, Apple Music’s vice president, Schusser, expressed his surprise that, even after 20 years, we still provide music without charge. He explained that Apple is the only platform not offering a free service, as our company values music as an art form and wouldn’t dream of distributing it for nothing.
Schusser clarified, ‘This concept doesn’t compute for me. We’ve never offered a free service, there won’t be one in the future, and we don’t intend to create one.’
Schusser’s remarks didn’t specifically target any specific streaming platform. However, he pointed out that several rivals of Apple Music provide free ad-supported versions, such as Spotify, which happens to be the biggest streaming service globally.
In a statement, a representative from Spotify noted that the company continues to be the primary source of income within the music industry, and added that its free, ad-supported service attracts more listeners who often upgrade to their premium services.
In 2024, Spotify distributed over $10 billion to the music industry, making it the service that paid out the most – more than any other platform. According to their spokesperson, a multi-tiered approach is instrumental in consistently surpassing other retailers and streaming services annually in payouts. Beyond revenue generated by the ad-supported tier, over 60% of Premium subscribers initially started as users on the ad-supported plan. This strategy, which involves attracting music enthusiasts, increasing their involvement, and subsequently offering them opportunities to upgrade to a more comprehensive set of Premium features, has proven successful for Spotify.
In the world of music, the cost of subscription services is often a contentious issue, with companies consistently striving to get the most value from their music offerings. Although streaming platforms rescued the industry from the grip of widespread piracy by providing an affordable, convenient option compared to purchasing individual albums, industry leaders believe that these services could be priced higher to better reflect the worth of music. For instance, Sony Music CEO Rob Stringer suggested during a recent investor conference that ad-supported streaming platforms should implement a “modest fee” for their service, as reported by Billboard.
In another part of the meeting, the NMPA shared that U.S. music publishing revenue surpassed $7 billion last year, representing a 17% increase from the previous year. However, Israelite and NMPA executive vice president and general counsel Danielle Aguirre also noted potential obstacles to this growth, such as stringent government regulations. For instance, mechanical royalties are decided by the Copyright Royalty Board, which is a panel of three judges at the Library of Congress.
The NMPA has highlighted that services like Spotify and Amazon Music have been providing subscription packages including audiobooks, leading to a decline in royalties for songwriters. During a press conference on Wednesday, Aguirre stated that the association lost approximately $230 million last year due to Spotify’s bundles, and since Amazon started offering bundles, there has been a 40% decrease in music revenue from their platform within the first three months.
Despite the stress we faced, our mechanical income increased last year, but think about how significantly larger that increase might have been if certain strategies hadn’t been implemented,” Aguirre pondered.
Last year, Spotify’s approach to bundling sparked debate within the music publishing industry. During their annual meeting, the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) declared they had filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Spotify. Separately, the Mechanical Licensing Collective took legal action against Spotify, but this lawsuit was dropped earlier in 2021. In response to these allegations, Spotify revealed in their Loud and Clear report from March that they have paid approximately $4.5 billion to publishers and songwriters over the past two years.
Aguirre further highlighted the issue of social media platforms, stating they were “shortchanging songwriters” due to minimal payments received. Specifically, she referred to TikTok, a platform that raked in $18.5 billion last year, with approximately 85% of its videos featuring music.
On Wednesday evening, an Israelite figure emphasized unity among the music industry, particularly supporting songwriters. He stated, “A robust songwriter economy is vital for our industry’s health.” He urged recording artists, managers, and record labels to join forces with non-performing songwriters in their endeavors, asserting, “Let’s stand together whenever and wherever they advocate for their rights.
The event featured not only discussions but also award presentations and live performances. At this NMPA gathering, Gracie Abrams, recognized as the breakthrough songwriter of the year, along with triple threat award-winner Aaron Dessner, collaborated on a performance of Abrams’ hit “I Love You, I’m Sorry“, which they co-authored.
Throughout the evening, Kacey Musgraves was bestowed the Icon Award for this year, and Rhett Akins, a well-respected country songwriter, received recognition as a Non-Performing Songwriter Icon. Thomas Rhett, Akins’ son and a popular country artist, took the stage to perform his father’s music, while Leon Bridges paid tribute to Musgraves with a rendition of her song “Lonely Millionaire”. To conclude the event, Musgraves sang “The Architect” from her latest album “Deeper Well“.
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2025-06-12 06:25