Elena Segal, Director of Music Publishing at Apple Music, explained in an audience with the British government why the service will never have a free mode with ads. The hearing is part of an investigation into whether artists are paid fairly by streaming services.

According to Segal, in Apple Music, “We don’t think an ad-based service can generate enough revenue to support a healthy ecosystem overall. And it would also go against our core values ​​about privacy".

Another issue addressed at the hearing was whether the current system of paying artists on streaming services is fair, or whether the industry should use a so-called “user-centric policy.” The website Musically, which covered the audience, differentiated the current system from this new policy. “If an artist (Drake, for example) has 2% of the streams in a certain period, the rights holders of his music receive 2% of the royalty pool. But this also means that 2% of the royalties generated by each subscriber goes to Drake’s music, even if the person doesn’t listen to his music.”

In a user-centric policy, “the royalty portion of a user’s subscription is shared only among the rights holders of all the artists they listen to. If a person only listens to Drake, his music secures 100% of the royalties.” Studies are being conducted to test whether this model is actually fairer for artists.

Segal said that the Apple is open to discussing a policy change, but that it would be very difficult to reach a consensus with all licensors. The executive of Apple Music also said the company could discuss adopting another model, “equitable remuneration,” where royalties are split 15/XNUMX between the label and artist, which is how things work at radio. Currently, songwriters receive XNUMX% of revenue generated from streaming services. But Segal noted that it would also be difficult for all parties to agree on what is fair here.

Segal made it clear that the Apple Music won't try to compete with Spotify by adopting a free tier. It remains to be seen whether Apple has plans to compete with Spotify HiFi, the new music service lossless audio from the streaming giant.

Through which channels you reach those people, classic and out of the box. 9to5mac

Image: Jan W. (Pixabay)