Spotify CEO Faces Backlash Over Calling Cost of Creating Music 'Close to Zero'

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has come under fire from musicians and music fans alike after posting a controversial statement to X, formerly Twitter. In the post, Ek belittles the effort and cost of making music in the name of questioning "shelf life" for content.

"Today, with the cost of creating content being close to zero, people can share an incredible amount of content. This has sparked my curiosity about the concept of long shelf life versus short shelf life. While much of what we see and hear quickly becomes obsolete, there are timeless ideas or even pieces of music that can remain relevant for decades or even centuries," posted Ek.

He continued, writing that "we're witnessing a resurgence of Stoicism, with many of Marcus Aurelius's insights still resonating thousands of years later. This makes me wonder: what are the most unintuitive, yet enduring ideas that aren't frequently discussed today but might have a long shelf life? Also, what are we creating now that will still be valued and discussed hundreds or thousands of years from today?"

X users were quick to tear apart Ek's statement, replying that the cost of creating "content" is nowhere close to free.

One reply reads, "Creating Music is not even close to zero my out of touch friend !!! If you can afford great gear to sound like what is on the radio it is close to 80k to just buy a good computer to run all the programs , guitars drum kits and all that !!! Plus the hours of recording a song , mixing and mastering !!!"

The pointed message continues: "So you're saying if a song takes me 6 hours to create !! That my time is close to zero and the gear I used whether I bought my own or rented it was close to zero!!! its ludicrous!!!"

"Ripping off artists, a business model for Spotify," reads a reply from NetopiaEU, a web publication.

Spotify is in hot water with artists, the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) and the Mechanical Licensing Collective (MLC) after introducing its new "bundled" subscription packages. By sneaking in audiobook content to a normal premium, ad-free Spotify subscription, the streaming giant is able to pay artists, writers and publishers less.

The MLC filed suit against Spotify, citing that the "The financial consequences [of bundles]... are enormous for songwriters and music publishers."

The NMPA sent a cease and desist letter to Spotify, arguing that the streaming platform violated copyright law by using unlicensed lyrics in its new video and podcast features.

NMPA President David Israelite criticized Spotify, writing that "Only in Spotify's world would a price hike for users mean a lower royalty rate for songwriters."

Spotify users were also met with disappointing news when the company announced that its "Car Thing" would cease to function this December. The product was already discontinued in July 2022, with sales ending in October 2022. Now, users who purchased the Car Thing will not be able to use the $89.99 device.

This announcement prompted a class action lawsuit from disgruntled owners of the Car Thing.

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