Barriers to Monetizing Music
The greatest barrier to earning money as a musical artist is not creation or distribution. Look at your streaming platform of choice. There is no shortage of music available for streaming or downloading.
However, I think it is incorrect to look at the ever-growing number of available-to-stream songs and conclude that creating music is “easy” or that there are “too many artists.”(1) The reality is that creating and distributing music is now more accessible. And that accessibility has shifted the barriers to monetizing music for artists.
I see two large, current barriers for musical artists. The first is “breaking through the noise” of all the available music out there to attract a healthy fan base. The second is navigating our U.S. copyright system particularly as it relates to owning music copyrights and obtaining music royalties.
I don’t have an answer for the first barrier. At least not one that I support. I believe that this barrier is the reason why music labels, artists, and consumers have been turning to social media to evaluate, market, and find new music. As a consumer, I don’t like it but I understand it. Even though most streaming platforms have curated genre and new music playlists (i.e. New Music Friday), it can feel tedious to wade through a collection of new songs in the hopes of liking one or two. Moreover, it is a whole process to get music onto a curated playlist. Artists can pitch their music to get onto curated playlists. Some third parties offer pitching services for a fee. Independent artists often never hear back perhaps because the majority of songs–on curated Spotify playlists–are associated with major labels.(2) It’s easier to promote and consume new music on social media. However, if an artist doesn’t already have ten thousand followers or lots of money to spend on influencer recommendations or ads, they’re basically hoping that their video or sound clip goes viral on platforms of infinite content.
Entertainment and copyright lawyers exist to both perpetuate and tear down the second barrier. Ironically, the U.S. copyright system was conceived as one that could and should be navigated by creatives themselves without the need for a law degree. I think that The U.S. Copyright Office tries to embody this; they do provide many helpful resources.(3) However, music copyright law can be complex, and the industry takes advantage of this. For example, think of a struggling artist that gains enough recognition to get an offer from a label. The contract with the label provides that the artist will write a new album but assigns all copyright ownership of the album to the label in exchange for funding and marketing. I imagine that most small artists would take the deal because they do not have bargaining power to negotiate and the deal could be their best chance at growing their following. But, they lose copyright ownership. So, any money from licensing deals (synch licenses, streaming royalties, etc.) is owed to the label, not the artist.
Think also about music royalties. There are several different types. Different types are collected by and paid to artists through different organizations (for which the artist has to register). To add insult to injury, making lots of money via streaming royalties requires an artist to have a large proportion of total streams in their geographic market (on most streaming platforms).
The point is, that it is helpful for an artist to have some understanding of music copyright law to make sure that they are not being taken advantage of and/or that they are receiving the royalties due to them. Music copyright law is difficult to understand without a legal background or without counseling from an attorney. Attorney fees are expensive. This is a large part of the reason why I started Crescendo IP—to help artists navigate our intellectual property system with a transparent system of flat fees.
If you are an artist looking to understand and/or protect your intellectual property rights, you can book a 30-Minute Consultation or Contact me.
(1) Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Spotify’s CEO got roasted by artists after he said the cost of creating content is ‘close to zero.’ Now he’s trying to walk back his ‘clumsy’ remark, FORTUNE, https://fortune.com/2024/06/03/spotify-ceo-daniel-ek-content-cost-close-to-zero-stearming-subscription-fee-hike/ (June 3, 2024).
(2) Ashley King, A New Study Confirms the Obvious: Major Labels Control Spotify Playlists, DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS, https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/05/04/spotify-playlist-study-major-labels/ (May 4, 2022).
(3) U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE, What Musicians Should Know about Copyright, https://www.copyright.gov/engage/musicians/ (last visited, July 31, 2025).