Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and Coldplay’s popularity. The epic and catchy music that the band creates time after time has sculpted the group into a musical juggernaut, gathering up critical accolades like it’s free candy at Halloween (first and last obligatory Halloween joke, I promise).
This trend appears to be holding true for Coldplay’s ambitious and upbeat “Mylo Xyloto,” which features oft-played singles like “Paradise.” But last week it was announced that Coldplay would not allow tracks from “Mylo Xyloto” to be put on streaming websites like Rdio and Spotify, perhaps out of a desire to encourage people to listen to the album as one entity. Nonetheless, the decision has irked some fans of the group.
Now, I am a self-proclaimed album listener instead of a single-listener, and I can understand the potential desire to encourage listeners to listen to “Mylo Xyloto” as one album by purchasing it digitally on iTunes or in the form of a physical copy elsewhere, as opposed to picking and choosing songs, as is easy to do on Spotify.
But I am inclined to believe that it is just as easy to pick and choose songs to purchase on iTunes than it is on streaming sites (if not easier) unless the songs can only be purchased with the rest of the album (which, as of Saturday, “Mylo Xyloto” is not). And in my opinion, the biggest increase in full-album downloads that will result from this decision is that of the illegal variety.
While the royalties artists receive for song-plays on streaming sites are negligible (Rolling Stone has published estimates that performing artists receive $0.38 per 60 songs streamed, which is then often split half-and-half with their record labels), they are something, and each little bit adds up.
If a streaming site were to offer the average UCLA student a small but guaranteed stream of money for their work, I’m sure they would take it. That being said, my financial situation and lead vocalist Chris Martin’s financial situation are just a tad different from each other, and looking at royalties from such different perspectives may simply not correlate well.
Coldplay is not the only artist to withhold its new album from streaming sites. Adele’s recent powerhouse album “21” is also missing from Spotify’s selection. I would be willing to bet that, were “21” on streaming sites, it would have already accumulated a significant amount of royalty money. Although, like Chris Martin and the rest of the members of Coldplay, it would appear that Adele is doing just fine for herself without it.
I also believe that listeners who go to streaming sites frequent those sites because they do not have to pay for every song they listen to. By that same logic, choosing not to put a hugely popular new album like “Mylo Xyloto” on streaming sites will not inspire listeners looking for free music listening to head over to iTunes to pay for the songs or album.
Instead, they might just pack up their headphones and sail on over to file-sharing sites such as The Pirate Bay and use that $9.99 they saved to buy themselves a meal or two (or perhaps the cover of a course reader).
Do you think artists are receiving enough royalty payments? Email Bain at abain@media.ucla.edu. “B-sides” runs every Monday.