[krilnon]

> You'd expect the artist(s) of the record to get my $12 minus a service fee, but what I'm sure happens is the artist(s) only get the price per play x 3 and Spotify pocket the rest.

I think companies like Spotify end up spending 60-70% of that $12 on paying license fees, which include per-play amounts that eventually end up with the artists. And the structure of those deals is such that the groups with the biggest licensing deals get most of your $12, even if you didn't listen to music from that particular artist.

I agree that it's not what you (or I) want, but it does make sense from the perspective of the largest parties involved in these negotiations.

[kzrdude]

The royalty systems are created for paying the pop industry. The niches and the long tail gets nothing, because it's divided according to stakeholder size and by playlists from major radio & broadcasters, not a fair cross section.