“Listen up! This is a protest.” Thus begins indie alternative rock band Anti–Social Club’s latest release “Bye ByeSpotify”, a fiery, catchy, punk–inspired anthem aimed squarely at forcing Spotify to change its new policy that redirects streaming revenue from songs that get less than 1,000 streams per year to artists whose music exceeds that threshold.
“Spotify has literally started stealing money from obscure indie artists like ourselves and sending it to more well–known acts,” says the U.S.–based band’s lead singer, songwriter, and guitarist Greg Fuhs. “Rather than either roll over and quietly accept their theft or pack up and leave the platform, we have instead decided on a creative alternative response.”
The expressive, driving song’s lyrics state that due to Spotify’s policy, Anti–Social Club is pulling all of its music from the platform EXCEPT Bye Bye Spotify, and advises listeners that they can find the band’s music on almost every other streaming platform. It also encourages listeners to cancel their Spotify subscriptions and otherwise join in the fight to demand fair pay for artists regardless of their streaming totals.
Removing all of the band’s music from the platform – except for one song which protests what the platform is doing – is intended to send a clear message to Spotify, and to spark a campaign that builds a groundswell of support among listeners and other artists which publicly shames Spotify and hits them in the pocketbook.
“As we say in the song, we don’t rely on the small amount of money we get from Spotify to survive, but it’s the principle of the matter,” says Fuhs. “What they are doing is theft, and artists and listeners alike should not stand for it. Bye Bye Spotify is a call to action.”
The band is urging listeners and artists to help the campaign go viral by doing the following:
- Listeners: Regularly stream the song on Spotify or whatever platform you use. Like it, share it, talk about it on social media. It’s a great tune – help make it a hit!
- Artists: Cover or remix the song (which the band will license for free), or write your own protest song, and follow Anti–Social Club’s example on your Spotify page. Or at a minimum, put a statement in your artist bio calling out Spotify for their terrible policy. Help amplify the message!
- Spotify Users: If on Spotify Premium, consider canceling your subscription and switching to a different platform. Or if you must keep it, contact Spotify and voice disapproval of their new policy. Help apply the pressure!
- Music Writers / DJs / Podcasters: Play the song on your programs and cover the campaign in your publications. Help get the word out!
Spotify is the largest music streaming platform with more than 600 million users, of which more than 235 million are paid subscribers. On average the company pays artists between about a third and half a penny per stream – already one of the lowest rates among streaming services – but in late 2023 it announced that in early 2024 it would stop paying royalties for songs receiving less than 1,000 streams per year and redirect those funds to artists with songs exceeding that threshold. Spotify estimates this would take approximately $40 million from obscure artists in the first year and as much as $1 billion over five years. “Spotify says it is doing this to better support working musicians, but it would be primarily at the expense of newer and lesser–known artists, even as the company continues to pay its senior executives massive salaries and to fund its lavish office spaces all around the world,” says Fuhs. “They need to remember that the artists provide the content that enables them to exist in the first place, and they need to treat us fairly if they want to stay in business. Just because a song isn’t popular doesn’t mean it isn’t good, and there are many better ways Spotify could better support ALL artists rather than stealing from the smallest ones.”
In fact, almost two–thirds of the more than 100 million tracks on Spotify do not reach the threshold of 1,000 streams per year, meaning many artists will no longer receive any payment from the platform for their work. “It would be a beautiful irony and poetic justice if Spotify had to pay us massive royalties for extensive streams of Bye Bye Spotify, which calls them out for their bad behavior,” says Fuhs. “For that to happen, we just need a
lot of listeners to help make it go viral. And I’m happy to say that Anti–Social Club will be donating any money we make from this song to The Music Collective Foundation, a nonprofit charity that supports independent musicians in various ways.”
To find Bye Bye Spotify on your preferred streaming platform and for more information on the campaign, visit https://linktr.ee/byebyespotify.
Contact: dyingcodemedia@gmail.com
