BUT THERE’S NOT MUCH MEAT ON IT…
Last.fm today launched it’s Artist Royalty Program which gives unsigned artists the opportunity to accrue royalties directly from Last.fm. The site claims this is the first time that D.I.Y. musicians can earn directly from a free streaming platform.
And while Last.fm claims the royalties are comparable to what they’re paying majors, how much can artists expect to earn? Not that much and certainly less than from internet stations like Soma.fm and Radio Paradise. According to terms on Last.fm web site:
- If your track is played on our free radio service you will accrue a 10% of the Share of Last.fm’s Net Revenue (see the definition of “Share” and “Net Revenue” in the terms and conditions) from the free radio service.
- If your track is played on our personalized premium radio service, you
will accrue the greater of either 10% of the Share of Last.fm’s Net
Revenue from the personalized radio service, or US $0.0005 for each
complete transmission on the personalized radio service. - If your track is played on our free on-demand service, you will accrue
30% of the Share of Last.fm’s Net Revenue from the on-demand radio
service. - If your track is played on our premium on-demand service, you will
accrue the greater of either 30% of the Share of Last.fm’s Net Revenue
from the premium on-demand service, or US $0.005 for each complete
transmission on the prepaid or subscription on-demand service.
To be fair, Last.fm is paying a whole lot more than most other 2.0 services who pay unaffiliated artists nothing. Kurt Hanson of RAIN wrote, "…this new program is simply an efficient way to enter ‘boilerplate’ agreements with indie artists, rather than some gracious decision on Last.fm’s part to pay them — which they’re obligated to do anyway."
And is it a fair revenue share? I tend to think not…or am I just being too old school?
