Spotify Policy: Bots, Royalties, and Artist Careers

Spotify's $10 Billion Lie: Unpacking Royalties, AI Bots, and the True Cost of a Stream

The provided text is an excerpt from a YouTube video transcript of an interview between the host of the Indie Music Academy channel and Sam, Spotify's Head of Marketing and Policy for Spotify for Artists. The discussion focuses on several critical issues facing independent musicians, including monetisation, royalty payments, and the complexities of the streaming economy. Sam addresses common misconceptions, such as the fixed per-stream rate, explaining that Spotify's model prioritises growing the total royalty pool through user engagement, even if the per-stream calculation is lower than competitors. Furthermore, the conversation explores the company’s efforts to combat artificial streaming (bots) and details Spotify's policy approach to AI-generated music, particularly concerning impersonation and mass uploads.