Why Streaming Doesn't Work For Independent Music Artists.

• Independent artists struggle to monetize music on streaming platforms
• Algorithms on streaming platforms hinder independent artists from reaching a larger audience
• Bandcamp offers a sustainable income alternative for independent artists
• View our streaming payouts and royalties calculator^[2]

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Independent artists face a battle. One which is not getting any easier. Monetizing creative work has always been challenging. In this article, I would like to share why I have arrived at a controversial conclusion regarding the distribution^[3] of my music.

If you are an independent artist, producer, or musician, you will likely be facing the same uphill battle as I am. I hope that sharing my personal experience will open a discussion about the following unspoken truth:

Many of us are willingly and for no justifiable reason shooting ourselves in the foot by giving our music to large platforms for a meager reward. The problem is simple. The majority of us are not making any money from the platforms. I am, of course, referring to the world of streaming.

OK, there, I said it.

If I may, I would like to explain my issues with streaming^[4], provide an alternative perception of what streaming could be, and share a model that I will be using moving forward. Before I do, best I give you some background.

Independent Artists-Who Am I To Talk? 

My name is Sean Holland. I am an independent music artist and run a boutique record label^[5]. I make music under the names Alexander Rhodes^[6] and Luna & Leaf.^[7] (Ambient, Downtempo, Chill-Out. Think Cafe Del Mar).

I am also a guitarist, poet, and theatermaker. I was a full-time DJ for fifteen years throughout the nineties and into the early noughties. During that time, I spanned the transformation from vinyl, through CD and into the download era.^[8]

Around 1998 I co-wrote my first dance track. It was a trance number, made entirely with a Korg Trinity keyboard; drums, and all! (Yep. I know).

My two mates and I drove to London with the DAT (a kind of oblong, plastic WAV file with a tape in it) and watched in awe as the mastering engineer for Jason Nevin’s “It’s Like That” turned our (weak) demo into a usable vinyl.

The track went to number one on the Club 97 dance chart that weekend, and we were ecstatic. It sold five hundred copies on vinyl through one record shop, Needle To The Groove, in Plymouth, UK. (netting over 1.5K GBP)

Our second attempt was much better. Bring Out The Gimp was signed by Shock Records, Torquay, and that release became a Trade/Sundissential Hard House anthem. For me, the highlight was when John Peel played it on his show.

I enjoyed reading some of the lovely comments^[9] about the track on this YouTube Post. I can’t say I particularly enjoyed listening to the track. It hasn’t dated well.

The follow-up track was also signed by shock (we grossed another 1.5K GBP in advances for those tracks and would likely have made a whole lot more if the distributor had not gone bust).

I gave up making music in 2008 after releasing Sean Holland & Threesixty KX^[10], supported by Dave Seaman, David Guetta, and many more.

Toolroom records shortlisted it for licensing, but nothing came of it. The track was released on download only, and I didn’t make a penny. In fact, it cost me the studio session and mastering.

My reasons for giving up music were entirely personal—nothing to do with the industry. I wanted to explore other areas of creativity and went on to write and produce an award-winning musical play, One Foot In The Rave.^[11]

So I consider myself to be an experienced independent artist who has enjoyed limited success, as opposed to being a vastly successful producer that became a household name.

However, I have had the experience of promoting music across all formats. I have driven the length and breadth of the country with a boot full of limited press vinyl^[12], selling straight into shops.

I have seen my tracks licensed and, more recently, started over with those two new pseudonyms in the digital world of streaming.

And streaming is where I have a problem. For independent music producers who do not have legacy, (by that, I mean a significant back catalog, not the plugin bundle) and eye-watering marketing budgets, streaming simply doesn’t work.

Why do I say that?

Independent Music Artists & The Challenges We Face 

I will not be so bold as to tell you what you should do. What do I know? I am clearly struggling with the modern music landscape. I will share some personal home truths, though. I aim to share some of my pain in order to provoke some serious self-analysis.

Since joining the world of streaming, my reasonably produced music, which sits in a popular niche, is bombing. I started releasing again in 2019 or thereabouts. I am well-connected, understand digital marketing (I run a company involved in that sphere), and network tirelessly.

The right DJs play and share my music in clubs and on the radio. I have tried many promotional tools; the only one that has yielded any provable success is Groover^[13]. Still, I have yet to see any meaningful traction, and by that, I mean financial reward.

Of course, it could simply be that my music is not liked. However, I see a lot of awesome tracks out there that are also languishing on streaming sites with very little traction. For the purpose of this discussion, though, my theory can be adequately demonstrated by analyzing the numbers I have achieved.

So, here goes…

2022 Numbers – The Cold, Hard Facts

• Last year I made £240.00 from around 70,000 streams
• Last year I also made £37.00 from Bandcamp from just 6 transactions.
• In 2019, I made £500 in one week on T-shirts at my musical during Edinburgh Fringe

Now, you don’t have to be a business guru or mathematical genius to see my thinking process. I hate numbers. I can’t stand them. That is why I do words. However, like it or not, independent music artists rely on numbers, and the above numbers tell a story.

Streaming Is A Two Edge Sword For Independent Music Artists

When it comes to streaming, we are damned if we do and damned if we don’t. I know that I cannot afford to NOT stream my music. Streaming is where the listeners are. Also, I have mates who are clearing 250K streams monthly, some even more.

The difference between my situation and theirs is LEGACY. These friends started in the nineties and kept going. Their music is world-class and is still being played 30 years later. They didn’t spend their time getting wasted as I did.

They treated it like a business and caught a wave that propelled them to a level where their fan base multiplied rapidly. That fan base stayed loyal and reconnected when streaming platforms took over from music collections.

When I sit with said friends and chew the fat, the one thing that we come back to is that an independent music artist relies wholly on an engaged fan base to succeed. Without one, we are toast, as I adequately demonstrate every day of the year.

Building an engaged and supportive body of fans is, in my opinion, the only way to survive long-term. Achieving that goal is the challenge we all face.

While streaming undoubtedly works for those with legacy, I don’t believe streaming can provide a sustainable income for the rest of us. The probability of the algorithms across all digital platforms delivering the much-needed fan base is minimal.

Maybe an income is more likely if an artist spends ten hours a day on social media and marketing activities. Personally, I can’t do that as it is both time and cost prohibitive.

You might suggest that concentrating on getting signed to a more prominent label and riding the wave of their following is a good route. You would be right. However, I know for a fact that major record labels are rarely focused primarily on the music.

They are, first and foremost, looking at our social platform engagement and follower count. Then they are looking at how marketable we are as a personal brand. As a 50+ former raver with strong opinions, I am not prime brand or Major label material.

Of course, there are thousands of small independent record labels doing very well. It would certainly be a good idea to align myself with an independent label that is further up the food chain.

However, it starts to feel disingenuous if increasing my personal profile is the sole aim. I would want to write for that label with a specific musical goal in mind. Maybe a remix of a track that has inspired me or to explore a type of sound that is beyond my own label’s remit.

I will be actively looking at those options and perhaps, I will be able to share my journey. For now, let’s focus on streaming.

Maybe you don’t care about numbers. You may be happy to have your music out there, regardless. If so, good on you. Music is the answer. If you don’t care a hoot for income and love the process and experience of seeing your music on Spotify/Apple Music/Deezer, and so on, you have already won the battle.

Personally, blind determination and sheer bloody-mindedness drive me to want to solve this problem. Why? Because the music industry sucks.

A colleague recently told me that he has sat in more than one lengthy A&R meeting, where a major label has agreed to sign an artist, set a significant marketing budget, and then at the last minute, someone has said, “Oh, perhaps we should listen to one of their tracks.”

Ouch.

How did we get to a state where that (admittedly allegorical) state of affairs exists?

If we, as independent artists, can debate this problem and find a way for our music to flourish, that has to be worthwhile. If no answer is forthcoming, so be it. At least we can say we tried.

Let’s pretend we are in a crisis management situation. You and I must save the monetized indie artist scene from impending demise.

Step one is to look at pertinent facts, from which we can consider our options. Our focus is: How do I see more of a return for my hard work in the studio?

Right, Let’s go…

The Pink Floyd Factor 

• Fact one. To make a sustainable living, I need to hit 300,000 + streams a month.

The above number would generate less than 1,700 GBP in a month. Just about enough to live on in today’s economic climate (assuming you don’t want to live in a van.)

If I achieve 300K streams in a month, fantastic. Now I have to maintain it, month in and month out. That is not as daunting as it sounds because streamers are loyal. If I can hit that number, I have every chance of maintaining it, provided I keep up the content output.

Let’s put some context around that challenge. On the 30th of November 1979, Pink Floyd released a record. They sold around 350K singles of “The Wall” during its first three weeks in the charts.

So with no record label backing, marketing budget, or presence, I have to out-engage Pink Floyd every month of my working year to stand a hope of meeting the bills and eating.

For their efforts, Pink Floyd’s share of The Wall would have been in the region of £35K for those three weeks. (£147K in today’s money). For me, that level of income represents enough money to take five years off work and concentrate solely on music.

That figure is attractive, but let’s face it, highly unlikely. 147K GBP may have equated to 350K singles in 1979, but today it means 62,000,000 streams. If that does not adequately demonstrate how we have devalued our product, then nothing will.

Although a like-for-like situation is not possible, there is some benefit in the comparison with Pink Floyd. Let’s drill further to see what can be learned.

Pink Floyd’s per-capita revenue for “The Wall” was vast compared to today’s streaming model. However, Pink Floyd’s per-capita revenue was actually poor compared to my modern-day Bandcamp figures.

How so?

• Pink Floyd made £0.49p per capita on single sales for The Wall (Adjusted value)
• I make £0.89 per capita sale on Bandcamp (When selling singles at 1.00 GBP).
• In reality, I made a whopping £6.16 per capita on Bandcamp as I sold mostly EP’s
• We all make approx £0.00033p per stream on the major streaming platforms.

Any business consultant looking at those numbers on a purely financial level would say the same thing. “STOP STREAMING. You give your content away for no return. Why?”

Let’s Reverse My Independent Music Sales for 2022

If my fans had engaged with me the other way around (70K Bandcamp sales, 37 streams), I would have had a very different year. Look at the figures.

• Streaming – No revenue, as distributors won’t pay out amounts under 50GBP
• BandCamp – £62,300

It is a little sickening, don’t you think? I could scrape by with a quarter of that income each year. At the very least, I could work my other job part-time. With half of that (fictional) revenue, I could become a full-time producer again. I spend a lot of time crafting, promoting, and selling my music. Why shouldn’t I get paid for it?

Let me ask you another direct question. What makes more sense to you?

• Generating 300,000 engagements every single month for 20,400GBP per annum
• Generating 35,000 engagements every single YEAR for 31,150GBP per annum

It is worth looking at that calculation once more.

31,150 GBP yearly income equates to 35K people spending just one pound a year in English money via Bandcamp. One pound is not a lot of money.

I understand the argument is more nuanced than a simple mathematical formula. People shop and interact differently, depending on demographics such as age, geographical location, earnings, and music style. The question that remains is this.

Is it easier to generate 300K a month streams from people who do not want to pay for what they consume than it is to find 35K people a year who will pay you for your art?

I also appreciate that Bandcamp is not perfect. For example, it is of some concern to established artists that Bandcamp do not currently pay publishing royalties. Personally, I don’t care.

I am wholly independent; therefore, if a person streams a track three times for free (the limit I have set before they have to contribute), I don’t expect Bandcamp to pay me for those three streams. Why? Because that stream is free advertising, on a robust and reliable platform, which returns 90% of the income on a purchase.

(If the lack of publishing royalties from Bandcamp is not clear. (You can read up on the Bandcamp royalties argument here)^[14].

But no one downloads these days! I hear you cry.

Well, that’s not strictly true. Professional and bedroom DJs do. Also, podcasters do, and those would be ideal niche target groups. Music enthusiasts (sometimes referred to as super-fans) are also happy to contribute regularly to support their favourite artists. I am a super-fan.

There are two labels that release music on Bandcamp that I budget for in my monthly spreadsheet because I want them to keep going. I will spend 10 GBP to 20 GBP every month on music for my radio show and for DJ sets.

Also, anyone supporting an artist on Bandcamp is given streaming access to the tracks they have supported. I would argue that a true music enthusiast that wants independent music artists to survive will happily add an app to their device which encourages artists to thrive rather than wither and die.

I would also argue that a Super-fan of that caliber would buy the odd T-Shirt too, especially if you invest in quality graphic design for your cover art. As far as my logic dictates, I need to find around 150 super-fans that think and act the way I do. That would equate to 1,500 GBP per month, every month.

I feel like I need to wrap this up, and I cannot do that without a balanced counterpoint. The truth is, as independent artists, we have to stream.

Let me qualify that point before you throw your device across the room in frustration. I am not about to undo all of the hard work we have done.

What I am saying is;

We have to stream, but we don’t have to stream the same content!

Independent Artists Must Adapt To Survive

The more of us that adopt counterpoint business models, the more our consumers (I prefer the term fans) will hear about other ways to enjoy our music. When it comes to streaming, it was my ego as an artist that made me rush out and upload everything for free.

I just wanted to be on Spotify and see my tracks there^[15]. I became obsessed with streaming stats and monitoring tools. But, with the benefit of hindsight, it was all a striving after the wind. Not to mention soul-destroying.

I should be focusing on the people (and more specifically, the TYPE of people) I reach, not simply the number of streams.

Streaming numbers are vanity / Engaged fans are sanity.

So what is the purist music producer, with no significant following, supposed to do?

The answer to that question is the holy grail for people like you and me. The good news is I think I may have found an answer to my situation. At least, I have developed a battle strategy that may utilize the tools available far more efficiently and increase my chances of seeing a significant return.

A sustainable model for Independent Music Artists.

For what it is worth, here is the plan I propose to adopt as a gift to you. Do with it what you will.

Streaming

I have to do it. I accept that. However, I need to stream with a different perspective. In my world, a track is considered right for DJ’ing purposes at around five minutes in length. With my more meditative music, over five minutes is perfectly acceptable.

In the world of streaming and popular music, either length is considered too long. I have been guilty of releasing tracks that are simply too long for most people to consume.

I have just removed my entire back catalog from all streaming platforms and am in the midst of re-aligning my content with my new model. I have re-released two of my singles with both the original extended mixes plus new edits that are under three minutes long. These are my control subjects. I can compare how these releases perform against all subsequent releases.

Moving forward, I will release ONLY edits under three minutes on streaming platforms. Preferably, they will be at most two and a half minutes. Now my streaming fans can listen on playlists and so on. I will continue to get my measly rewards for those edits that I release.

For my extended DJ versions, limited edition remixes, and album tracks, I have a new plan.

Bandcamp

On Bandcamp^[16], I will be releasing the edits, PLUS full extended mixes and bonus limited versions, as well as my mix album compilations.

When I release an EP on Bandcamp, anyone who contributes to the release (on a name-your-own price basis) will also get an exclusive DJ mixed version of the tracks on the EP. I am ordering merchandise too—quality T-Shirts to begin with.

I aim to reward those who support me with a better value end product.

Soundcloud

The jury is out for me on Soundcloud. Not that I dislike it. I am of the mind that focusing entirely on one platform is better than spreading myself too thin. My view on this may change over time. Especially as they recently launched Soundcloud for Artists.^[17][18]

Mixcloud

I have just launched a dedicated podcast^[19] within my genre with an optional subscription offer that adds exclusive content to the show. My podcast will act as a funnel or signpost to my exclusive catalog in the same way as the edits on the streaming platforms will do.

To support the above plan, I have to kick myself in the ass and do more social media. I detest it, but I see the value of it.

The Independent Music Artist Business Plan

I aim to see organic growth in the areas that reward me the most. If I can get my revenue to 2,000 GBP over the next 12 months, I have a solid base to build from. What might that look like in sales across one year?

• Streaming – 0 GBP: 10 releases of edits only
• Bandcamp – 1,500 GBP: 10 releases x 150 sales each (a single priced at a 1GBP)
• 500GBP: 20 x T-shirts

Honestly, it doesn’t matter to me whether this new approach works or not. I am making nothing from music anyway. I love making music, though and will continue to do so as an Independent Artist. I would just rather make my music for super-fans rather than transient listeners.

Power to you. Hit me up on Instagram here^[20]. I am on TikTok here^[21]. I love a natter.

Love N Light

Sean Holland
Fiftypointfour Recordings

If you’re an artist looking for more information on sharing your music, growing your audience, or seeking advice in general, check out our following articles: