Snoop Dogg has taken aim at streaming giants which he believes are damaging the music industry—and in his eyes the wider creative sector.
In an event held at the Milken Institute Global Conference earlier this month the Gin and Juice rapper said he was going “off script” and launched into a rant—which has since gone viral—about streaming platforms.
The outburst came following a question from Larry Jackson, formerly the creative director for Apple Music, who spoke about an “exciting time” for the hip hop genre courtesy of its popularity on streaming platforms.
“Streaming got to get their s*** together,” Snoop—real name Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr.—batted back, highlighting that massive streaming figures aren’t translating into big payouts for artists.
The founder of venture capital firm Casa Verde Capital—reportedly worth at least $200 million—then directly addresses the audience of business leaders: “I don’t know who’s running the streaming industry—if you are here or not—but you need to give us some information on how to track this money down, cause one plus one ain’t adding up to two.”
Amid laughter and cheers from the audience, the recent coffee brand founder said the problem was the “main gripe” with artists at the moment, as profit percentages had previously been agreed off the back of physical sales.
In the world of streaming, he adds, no such agreements have been put in place.
“It’s not being translated,” he said. “It’s not working for the artist right now.”
The rapper continues that artists need to figure out streaming the same way as do striking writers, who are refusing to go back to their desks until pay agreements have been made with streaming platforms—at which point Snoop Dogg seemingly motions to Jackson.
“I know I’m going off script now but f*** it,” he continues. “This is business, this is a room full of business people and someone may hear this and be able to do something about this so that the next artists don’t have to struggle or cry or figure out how to get to his money.
“Some of these artists are streaming millions and millions of streams and they don’t have millions of dollars in their pocket,” he finishes.
‘You can hold a real conversation’
The discussion then moves onto artificial intelligence, an issue similarly beleaguering both musicians and Hollywood writers.
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May 9, 2023 at 3:58 AM PDT
Images Credit:
Snoop Dogg used his time on stage at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference to call on streaming giants like Apple Music and Spotify to clarify payment rules around streaming figures.
- JEROD HARRIS - GETTY IMAGES
- Snoop Dogg used his time on stage at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference to call on streaming giants like Apple Music and Spotify to clarify payment rules around streaming figures.
Source : FORTUNE
Link to original article: Snoop Dogg goes off script in interview with former Apple Music director, saying the music industry ‘isn’t working’ anymore because of streaming
