Slashdot: Spotify Will Boost Music In Exchange For Cut of Royalties

Spotify Will Boost Music In Exchange For Cut of Royalties
Published on November 03, 2020 at 07:45PM
On Monday, Spotify announced a new initiative that offers artists the chance to pay their way into automated recommendations. Gizmodo reports: In a carefully worded blog post, Spotify is framing its latest move as a test that will give artists more “input” into the recommendation algorithms that populate personalized playlists with fresh tracks. The company writes that its algorithms take “into account thousands of types of signals: what you’re listening to and when, which songs you’re adding to your playlists, the listening habits of people who have similar tastes, and much more.” Today, Spotify is adding a new signal to the mix: $$$.

Artists uploading new tracks to Spotify will be able to choose “music that’s a priority for them” and in exchange for accepting a “promotional recording royalty rate,” Spotify’s algorithms might just bless them with exposure. The company isn’t making promises, it’s only offering an opportunity. There’s no guarantee of placement in playlists and the reduced royalty rate is only applied to songs that end up being served through the new recommendation system. What is a “promotional recording royalty rate,” exactly? [A] spokesperson for the service told the Verge that they aren’t making the rate public while it’s in testing and Spotify will “calibrate to make sure that the widest group of artists and labels can find success.”