Spotify’s Flop Era: How the Streaming Giant Became the Industry’s Biggest Villain

Photo by Artist Linbei

Once upon a time, Spotify was the “cool” platform. They gave us playlists that actually slapped, cute Wrapped infographics, and a way to discover indie artists without pirating Limewire tracks like it’s 2006.

But fast forward to now? Spotify feels like that ex who pretends they care, but only hits you up when they need something.

The Royalties Are Still Trash. No, Seriously.

Let’s start with the obvious. Artists are still getting crumbs while Spotify flexes billion-dollar profits. You can stream a song 100,000 times and still not make enough to buy a pizza.

Spotify pays about $0.003–$0.005 per stream. To earn $1, you need roughly 250 streams. To earn minimum wage? You’d need millions.

Meanwhile, Daniel Ek (Spotify’s CEO) is investing millions of his personal wealth into AI-powered military drone technology through his company Prima Materia. Because nothing screams “I love music” like funding literal war bots.

They Just Raised Premium Prices Again

In a wild twist of “do less, charge more,” Spotify raised its Premium pricing again in July 2025. Cool, so now fans are paying more for the same playlists, more ads, and less artist support.

If you’re gonna up the price, at least let that trickle down to the people making the actual music. But nah, they’re not changing the royalty model. They’re just lining their pockets.

The Push for AI Music Is Giving Black Mirror

Spotify’s lowkey trying to replace musicians with algorithms. They’re quietly platforming AI-generated music while cutting visibility for actual human artists.Yes, that’s as dystopian as it sounds.

They recently launched a bunch of “functional audio” playlists (think: ambient, lo-fi, mood sounds) that are… surprise!... flooded with AI music. It’s cheaper for them and copyright-free. But it also means real artists get buried under synthetic noise.

Spotify’s dream? Pay no artists, stream AI sleep loops, and call it innovation.

Their New Artist Monetization Model? Kinda Gross.

Photo by Artist Linbei

Spotify’s latest change to its royalty system now punishes artists who don’t meet a stream threshold. Starting this year, if your song doesn’t hit a certain number of annual plays, you don’t get paid at all. That’s right, zero.

Imagine working your ass off to build a niche fanbase only to be told your art isn’t “worthy” of even the pennies they used to pay you. Spotify basically said: if you're not viral, you're invisible.

They’re Becoming a Tech Company That Hates Music

Let’s call it what it is: Spotify doesn’t feel like a music platform anymore. It’s a tech company cosplaying as an ally to artists. They’re investing in AI, podcasts, audiobooks, everything but the very people who made them relevant in the first place: musicians.

And when your CEO is more excited about building AI weapons than fixing artist payouts, it tells you everything you need to know.

So What Now?

Artists are looking for alternatives: Bandcamp (despite the ownership rollercoaster), SoundCloud, direct-to-fan platforms, and community-backed models. Fans are getting wise, too. People want to support music they love without feeding a machine that’s actively replacing human creativity.

The message is clear: we’re tired of being used. Tired of broken promises, performative allyship, and being fed algorithm music like it’s the future. If Spotify wants to keep the crown, it had better remember who built the throne. Because right now? It’s giving the villain era, and people are hitting skip.