This week, Drizzy became the first artist to surpass 75 billion streams on Spotify. It’s another major feat for an artist who basically broke every other streaming and sales record imaginable. However, Drake isn’t necessarily keen on celebrating the win with another plaque.
Just as athletes get bonuses, Drake would like artists to receive similar compensation from streaming services. The Canadian rapper stated artists should receive compensation, especially as they generate significant revenue for DSPs. He explained that financial compensation would ultimately motivate artists to deliver quality music.
“We should get bonuses like athletes to motivate the future artists to be consistent and competitive,” he wrote. In this case, Drake would certainly be getting bigger payouts from the labels. “So feel free to send me a Lebron sized cheque I have enough dinner plates,” he added with a laughing emoji and a heart.
Drake’s suggestion comes at an interesting time when major labels and streaming services want to shake the algorithm. Universal Music Group and major streaming services are in talks to develop a new model that would pay artists better. According to the Financial Times, UMG’s in talks with the major streaming platforms, including Spotify and TIDAL, to develop a plan to combat the growing number of bots and 31-second clips that qualify as a stream.
“You have a quantity over quality challenge right now,” said Michael Nash, Universal Music’s chief digital officer. Spotify currently sees 100,000 new songs uploaded to their platform daily. “That’s making it harder for new artists to establish themselves, for new releases to come through.”
Of course, Drake doesn’t necessarily suffer from these issues as much as new and independent artists. Drizzy's latest project, Her Loss, alongside 21 Savage reached one billion streams just after Christmas day – less than two months after its release. In 2021, he earned 500 million Spotify streams alone. Certified Lover Boy also broke the single-day streaming record on the service.
Check out Drake's Instagram post below and let us know your thought in the comments.
