“3,700 euros per million streams”: according to Alex Callier, streaming services are a curse and a blessing | BV

Callier once achieved the world hit ‘Mad About You’ with his band Hooverphonic. And for songs like that, Spotify’s revenue model is a very creditable model. But it can also be different. “For some people it’s definitely a blessing and for other people it’s a curse,” Alex explains. “And that’s very simple. It’s something designed, I think, for people who get a lot of streams and you get that with international success. Then I’m thinking of bands that break through internationally and therefore really get 200 million to 500 million to even a billion streams. Then that is of course a fantastic revenue model, because you earn about 3,700 euros on average per million streams,” Callier said to Business AM.

But then there is also the flip side. Alex continues: “It’s a lot more difficult for small Flemish-speaking bands that release a record in Flanders. Because I think you have to count there that you get a maximum of 1 million streams. Yes, then you have earned 3,700 euros. Recording an album still costs more.”

So it comes down to the fact that the mediocre bands benefit the least from the model. “As with everything in our society, the middle class is the biggest victim in the music world. Bands that are already there and that have built up a certain fan base are doing very well.” Alex concludes: “The middle class is getting harder, just as the middle class in our society is unfortunately also getting harder.”

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