Spotify is a serious point of contention for bands and musicians of all sizes and genres. The streaming service is frequently criticized for the extremely small payouts it gives artists, even when some have their songs streamed millions of times.
Needless to say, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider is not a fan of the service or its CEO Daniel Ek. “I wanna tell you, he should be taken out and shot,” Snider told “The Jeremy White Show.” “When he heard that artists were complaining about how little we get paid, his response was ‘make more music’ — like we’re producing cans of Coke. Just increase the production. It’s insulting and belittling.”
Snider said that licensing Twisted Sister music for movies, TV shows and commercials is the saving grace for many artists.
“The licensing is the last godsend, the last oasis where you can actually make some money,” he said. “Steven Spielberg chooses ‘We’re Not Gonna Take It’ for the finale of ‘Ready Player One’. Thank you, God, ’cause I’m not getting anything from Spotify.”
Spotify’s CEO suggested that if artists want to see more revenue from streaming, they should write and release more songs via a service that already pays them next to nothing. “Daniel Ek’s solution is for us to write & record more on our dime?! F*ck him!” Snider previously tweeted.
Former Skid Row frontman Sebastian Bach shared a similar sentiment. “When this guy puts out an album himself I will listen to him tell me about my albums,” he wrote.
Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy also ripped Ek via social media.
“What a greedy little b*tch…it’s bad enough that he’s worth BILLIONS based on stealing and giving away other musician’s music…but now he’s suggesting we need to make MORE music for HIM to make more money!!! I have 8 full album releases in 2020 & will make PEANUTS on them (if anything at all…) So his theory of artists needing to make MORE music to succeed is sh*t! Support THE ARTISTS DIRECTLY if you want them to be able to continue to make music…”
