Almost a week ago, Thom Yorke, the lead singer of Radiohead, withdrew his music from Spotify to protest how little streaming services pay artists. Ironically, he soon launched his own subscription service just days after making this criticism.
But let’s consider the broader question: do creators earn less when their work appears on platforms like Spotify and Netflix?
Research by economist Will Page suggests that artists who are not available on popular streaming platforms actually suffer higher rates of piracy. That raises important questions: do consumers feel entitled to pirate music that isn’t included in the “all-you-can-listen” subscriptions they already pay for? Or is piracy driven mainly by convenience—the simple ease of downloading a track illegally?
Both factors matter. If a fan of an artist wants a specific song and it’s not available on their preferred streaming service, many will take the easiest route to obtain it. What once required some technical skill is now trivial: schoolchildren routinely use YouTube downloaders and transfer ripped tracks to their devices. The process can be as quick as buying a song from an online store, but free—so someone paying for a £9.99 unlimited music subscription often feels justified in getting it elsewhere.
That attitude is damaging for creators. Still, streaming platforms like Spotify have provided a lifeline to a music industry grappling with declining revenues. They remain businesses, and while per-stream payouts are often criticized, clinging to older distribution models such as paid downloads may be riskier. Download sales have been slowing as streaming grows, signaling a structural shift in how people access music.
Historical data show a sharp decline in industry revenues from about 2002 until around 2008, the year Spotify launched. As streaming expanded, it helped stabilize and eventually begin to restore value for artists and labels. Keep in mind that Spotify started as a small Swedish startup and has been expanding its reach gradually; many regions, including parts of Asia and China, still saw limited access for years after its launch.
Some analyses debunk specific claims about royalties. For example, contrary to the assertion that radio pay-outs exceed Spotify payments, research indicates that a UK radio play earns roughly 0.024 pence while a Spotify stream pays about 0.4 pence—meaning a single Spotify play can deliver many times the revenue of a radio spin, depending on how figures are calculated and distributed.
For video content, the path is similar: adapt to modern distribution. Get your series on major subscription platforms like Netflix and accept negotiated royalties, or create a direct-to-consumer platform as broadcasters such as the BBC have done with iPlayer. Releasing content legally and globally through streaming reduces the incentives to pirate—an issue that continues to plague hugely popular shows like Game of Thrones.
Ultimately, streaming services can be financially viable for creators, provided content owners thoughtfully negotiate terms and embrace the distribution channels audiences are already using. The real question for artists and creators is how they will balance exposure, control, and compensation in a landscape increasingly dominated by subscription platforms.
So, were streaming services the right move for creators? The evidence suggests they can be—if approached strategically.