Nicki Minaj just won a major fight for streaming that will change the music industry

[Troyg39]

And how does "I went platinum" different fundamentally from "My album made 10 million dollars"?

Probably because actual "sales" of singles, downloads, albums, etc are being replaced by streams and views. Where before, an album could make 10 million in sales, consumers aren't making actual purchases as before beyond streaming service subscriptions. I guess this new way of determining album status can answer the problem of loss of already poor royalty payments for artists for sales performance by better reflecting their music's presence more closely with the way consumers are actually obtaining the product now. It may not be a benefit right away, but with the more accurate reflection of "are people actually listening to this artist", said artist should be in a better position to negotiate future deals for themselves to supplement the loss of record sales due to industry changes. They'll have more leverage to ink higher paying deals based on their real market presence. Record labels will have a harder time justifying still paying artists based on sales performance now that RIAA has changed it's rules on what a performing album or song looks like. The record labels will likely benefit from this as well. Streaming and views are more frequent than physical buys ever were, so the the signed artist will also be an increased asset for them under the new rules.

 

[Punk Hazard]

Probably because actual "sales" of singles, downloads, albums, etc are being replaced by streams and views. Where before, an album could make 10 million in sales, consumers aren't making actual purchases as before beyond streaming service subscriptions. I guess this new way of determining album status can answer the problem of loss of already poor royalty payments for artists for sales performance by better reflecting their music's presence more closely with the way consumers are actually obtaining the product now. It may not be a benefit right away, but with the more accurate reflection of "are people actually listening to this artist", said artist should be in a better position to negotiate future deals for themselves to supplement the loss of record sales due to industry changes. Record labels will have a harder time justifying still paying artists based on sales performance now that RIAA has changed it's rules on what a performing album or song looks like. The record labels will likely benefit from this as well. Streaming and views are more frequent than physical buys ever were, so the the signed artist will also be an increased asset for them under the new rules.

See, this makes more sense as a response. Views that generate revenue are being treated the same as sales that generate revenue because revenue is revenue, and that's what determines the RIAA certification status. This explains why it's being done, and why it makes sense to do so. I just don't see this as being beneficial outside of cosmetics.

If going platinum means making a certain amount of money, then people should just be able to go "I made 100,000,000 dollars from my album, which qualifies as platinum but it hasn't gotten the certification because a substantial amount of that came from views, and official certification only looks at album sales." In reality, an album that made a total of $100,000,000 from album sales and got certification accomplished the same thing as an album that made $50,000,000 from sales and $50,000,000 from views and no certification, despite reaching the same total. The implication that the former is a better feat from the latter is one that doesn't make sense, whether it be from fans or those working in the industry and you'd think they'd be treated as equal.

 

[Troyg39]

See, this makes more sense as a response. Views that generate revenue are being treated the same as sales that generate revenue because revenue is revenue, and that's what determines the RIAA certification status. This explains why it's being done, and why it makes sense to do so. I just don't see this as being beneficial outside of cosmetics.

If going platinum means making a certain amount of money, then people should just be able to go "I made 100,000,000 dollars from my album, which qualifies as platinum but it hasn't gotten the certification because a substantial amount of that came from views, and official certification only looks at album sales." In reality, an album that made a total of $100,000,000 from album sales and got certification accomplished the same thing as an album that made $50,000,000 from sales and $50,000,000 from views and no certification, despite reaching the same total. The implication that the former is a better feat from the latter is one that doesn't make sense, whether it be from fans or those working in the industry and you'd think they'd be treated as equal.

I see what you're saying. I completely agree that's why I didn't understand the big fuss over it to begin with. To be honest it may not even benefit artists that much because it will still come down to what labels will allow and what can be worked out. If I put out a song on a free service like youtube and it gets enough views and streams to get platinum or even diamond status..I only really have that status and exposure. I don't start actually getting revenue unless until Youtube decides to work a deal to pay me, I book a gig, work a deal with a label, streaming service, etc, so the vast majority of leverage is still with the other parties. And on top of that I'm still only a new independent artist. Even with the certification there's still enough uncertainty in what I will do moving forward, plus the competition in the market from other signed, more established artists with label promotion, distribution, marketing, etc. behind them, that labels can still hold a lesser deal over my head vs the alternative of me trying to repeat the same success on my own without the said benefits.

That's the very reason more and more artists are working with companies like Samsung, Apple, and others. They bypass the labels altogether which gives them more money directly than royalties ever paid them anyway, plus the benefit of better distribution to the consumer base that is more affiliated with these companies than the labels anyway. This is what's already being done so beyond that I don't see what the certification can really do either.

 

[Punk Hazard]

I see what you're saying. I completely agree that's why I didn't understand the big fuss over it to begin with. To be honest it may not even benefit artists that much because it will still come down to what labels will allow and what can be worked out. If I put out a song on a free service like youtube and it gets enough views and streams to get platinum or even diamond status..I only really have that status and exposure. I don't start actually getting revenue unless until Youtube decides to work a deal to pay me, I book a gig, work a deal with a label, streaming service, etc, so the vast majority of leverage is still with the other parties. And on top of that I'm still only a new independent artist. Even with the certification there's still enough uncertainty in what I will do moving forward, plus the competition in the market from other signed, more established artists with label promotion, distribution, marketing, etc. behind them, that labels can still hold a lesser deal over my head vs the alternative of me trying to repeat the same success on my own without the said benefits.

That's the very reason more and more artists are working with companies like Samsung, Apple, and others. They bypass the labels altogether which gives them more money directly than royalties ever paid them anyway, plus the benefit of better distribution to the consumer base that is more affiliated with these companies than the labels anyway. This is what's already being done so beyond that I don't see what the certification can really do either.

Yup, I agree with you. I was mostly thinking about bigger artists, like Nicki or Drake or Kendrick. But when it comes to the little guy, I can definitely see why this, even as cosmetic as it is, can provide a benefit. I hadn't considered budding artists that could go on to use this as bragging rights, since views are far more likely for them than flat out album sales in stores and with retailers.