Streaming is wrong. Or is it?

There’s a common narrative among artists that Spotify and streaming services are the worst thing that has ever happened to musicians. Björk has voiced it. So have Thom Yorke and Taylor Swift.

And at first glance, it makes sense—royalties are painfully low.

On average, a single stream generates around $0.003, meaning a song needs roughly 333,000 plays just to make $1,000. That’s a staggering number.

For a long time, I believed it was impossible to earn a significant income from streaming unless you were a superstar like Beyoncé or Dua Lipa.

But, it turns out I was completely wrong.

Industries evolve. The way people listen to music has changed, and resisting that change only makes things harder. If you want to thrive in streaming, you have to take full control of how people discover your music. That means understanding the internet, social media, and audience engagement. It’s not about whether streaming works—it does.

The question is: are you making it work for you?

And let’s step outside the perspective of artists for a second. Think about listeners, the majority of people.

Would most people really prefer owning a massive collection of CDs and vinyl over having instant access to the largest music catalog in history—anywhere, anytime—for $10 to $15 a month? Sure, some love the crackle of vinyl (I do too), but for the vast majority, streaming is simply better.

Personally, I’ve discovered hundreds, maybe thousands of artists I never would have found otherwise. That alone is revolutionary. And for this model to function, the system we have—flawed as it may be—is currently the best we’ve got.

Maybe something better will come along, but right now, I’m all in.

And here’s the thing: I’m making a living from streaming. And I´m no Beyoncé…

So in the end, I proved myself wrong.

Have a nice day,

Claudio.

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