‘I can see a world where Spotify doesn’t exist’: Will a new generation of music streaming companies succeed? | Music streaming

TThe buzz around Spotify this year has been louder than ever, from Liz Bailey’s book Mood Machine — a scathing indictment of the company and its alleged practices, which Spotify itself described as “theories riddled with errors” — to a slew of independent artists leaving the platform for political and moral reasons. There was even a recent music forum in California called Death to Spotify.

So the timing is right for a growing number of independent streaming and music community platforms, such as Nina Protocol, Coda, Subvert, Lissen, Vocana, and just last week a new platform launched in the UK: Cantilever. “More people are definitely looking for alternatives,” says Mike Pollard, CEO of Nina Protocol. “We strongly believe that the future of music is independent.”

Each of the new platforms has unique identities. Nina Protocol uses an open, public network, where artists set their own terms and keep 100% of any revenue from downloads; The collectively owned Subvert aims to be an alternative to Bandcamp, where music files are bought and sold. Cantilever draws inspiration from curated movie streaming platforms like Mubi, offering a limited, rotating number of albums at a time (currently 10, but up to 30).

What unites them is organization, a sense of community, and an artist-friendly, anti-corporate model. “We think a lot about the importance of releasing music,” Pollard says. “I don’t think these algorithm-driven reasons for why something should be played are very generous reasons: Is it just something that sounds like something they actually like? An artist might say, ‘One of my songs did well on Spotify because it was put on my most popular sleep playlist.’ But maybe the 500,000 people who listened to that song weren’t even awake! And how many of those people know your name, or care about you, or would buy a ticket to a show?”

Many of these new services also feature written articles and editorials, aiming to provide in-depth contextual information for a more focused listening experience. “It’s like a music magazine you can listen to,” says Cantilever’s Aaron Scates, a former record label worker and music writer who launched the streaming platform. Skates has managed to have an impressive list of independent labels to work with as well, such as Warp, Ninja Tune, Domino and Beggars Group labels like Rough Trade, 4AD and Matador.

By having a smaller roster of artists, it means they receive more money. “The pool is much less diluted,” Skates says. “We pay a maximum of 30 artists for all subscriber revenue, versus 100 million songs on Spotify. We also pay on a user-centric basis, meaning your fees will only go to the music you actually listen to.” Skates gives me an example: if Cantilever were to get 10,000 subscribers at £4.99 a month, that would result in albums on the service receiving between £2,000 and £3,000 per album, which he says is “roughly the equivalent of a million streams on Spotify”.

Spotify says in the company’s response that it “welcomes and celebrates choice and new perspectives,” but claims that “the narrative that the current system is failing artists is not supported by the facts; more artists are earning more than ever before. Rather than simply redividing the existing pie” – through models like Cantilever’s user-focused model – “Spotify is focused on growing this pie for everyone, increasing the total royalties paid year over year.”

So, does all this new activism have its roots in a revolt against big business? “I’d be wary of saying it’s anti-Spotify,” says Simon Wheeler, director of commercial strategy at Beggars Group. “It’s probably more disillusioning than the complete commoditization of music. There’s always a whole lot of new entrants to the market, but there are more people talking about trying to provide an alternative. The tone of that conversation has changed.”

However, Wheeler does not view these startups as major competition. “Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, none of them are going anywhere anytime soon,” he says. “So it’s kind of like: Let’s try to come up with something that offers something a little different.” Skates echoes this: “Cantilever is in no way competitive towards existing major signaling providers [digital service providers]“It’s something completely different,” he says. I don’t expect anyone to cancel their subscription and just get this – it’s an extra thing that tries to give extra value that wasn’t there before.

On the other hand, Pollard says, “he can see a world without Spotify in the future.” “Where people realize that the options available to them are not the ones that serve them best.” Although the numbers don’t quite show it yet, with Spotify revealing an additional five million paid subscribers in its Q3 report this year, that doesn’t mean interest in alternatives isn’t growing. The five-person team at Nina Protocol are struggling to keep up with incoming interest, and Skates says that despite only launching a week ago, interest and listener numbers for Cantilever have “exceeded my expectations.”

Pollard points out that a broader cultural change is starting to happen, which leaves him optimistic about a brighter future for music culture in the streaming era.

“There is a growing awareness of how full of filth everything is,” he says. “People want more control over what they consume.” He gives the example of users who left Company Then you understand what it feels like to be more intentional in your choices, rather than being everything you’re told you need to be. “I think people are waking up.”