The Playlist (2022) s01e06 Episode Script
The Artist
1
I never thought we would be ♪
And I hope that
You'll forgive me one day ♪
Everything has to come to an end ♪
Don't go lay it all on,
Lay it all on me ♪
You should know
That what we had together ♪
It won't happen with anyone else ♪
Looks like I let it go for the latter ♪
Don't ever put the blame on me ♪
Don't ever put the blame on ♪
Me ♪
She'd do it right, do it like
She ain't been working day and night ♪
Press your collar ♪
NEWS - PROTESTS CONTINUE
OUTSIDE SPOTIFY'S HQ
Have you checked your pulse?
- Sorry?
- Have you checked your pulse?
Thanks for coming on a Sunday.
Yeah, it's no big deal.
Is Jim here?
- Yes, he's in the pavilion.
- Okay yeah, good.
- Jim!
- Daniel.
- Good to see you. How are you?
- I'm great, and you?
- Yeah I'm good. Thank you for coming.
- No problem.
Always a pleasure to come over here
and get down to the nitty-gritty.
- Yeah.
- How's the Arsenal doing?
Fucking terrible, they lost again.
- They'd be better off with you in charge.
- Yeah. Your words, not mine.
So
As you know, we have an urgent
need to maximize revenue,
or at least bring down our cost base.
If this business is gonna thrive,
we have to reduce the cost of the music.
That's the main reason we spent the
last few years testing Discovery Max,
and now, finally,
we have some useful data.
Yeah, and?
Fucking fantastic.
Yeah?
The artists have seen their followers go
through the roof. They fucking love this.
- Alright.
- When they get the promotion boost,
they are seeing listener growth
of 40, 50, even 100%.
Concert sales and merch sales
are going up
Everybody who signed up to it
said they'd do it again, no question.
Why don't we roll it out
across the whole company?
Because it's highly contentious.
And because we only promote bands that
agree to hand back a cut of their royalty.
The artists consent to everything.
We're not charging anyone a penny.
It's a win-win situation, a new business
model for a new kind of music industry.
Well the Musicians' Union calls it payola.
And Senator Madison Landy of the US Senate
wrote Spotify a letter expressing
significant concern
that we are participating
in anti-competitive activities.
Well, that's not fucking good.
Bottom line is that 70% of everything
we bring in on the music,
goes straight back
to the record companies. 70%!
What other business
has to deal with those kind of costs?
Discovery Max is
Spotify doing things its own way.
It's us showing innovation,
reshaping music.
It's us putting power
into musicians' hands.
By halving their royalties.
I mean, If we don't push the
boundaries, we are not gonna survive.
Listen, what you and your team
have done is amazing, and I love it,
but we do need to take this
step by step. I mean
For now, let's just
let's roll it out in a way that keeps
everyone on our side, okay?
- Hi honey.
- Hi.
- How was the meeting?
- It was good.
Is this the new architect?
- That's exactly what it is.
- Yeah, okay.
- Are they tearing it all down?
- Yeah. Yeah, I think so.
Should I pick up the kids?
- No. No, your mom will do that.
- Oh, okay.
Hey You aren't worried?
About the protests?
- No.
- No?
But I can see that you are.
I'm just worried
they're gonna blame you for this you know
No, they won't blame me for anything.
Look at this. This singer has been
on Spotify since the start.
Do you know why she stays?
Because she knows we're the best.
It's as simple as that.
I promise.
Spotify, what we want
A small but persistent group
has been protesting outside Spotify's
headquarters here in Stockholm.
We are all activists now.
They have forced us into it.
These comments are from protest
leader Nadja Johansson, an ex-musician,
who feels forced to act
because of the situation
Ok, let's see You know what?
Let's do this later.
You have to go to school.
I don't want you to be late today.
Can I have an iPhone?
No, I can't afford an iPhone, honey.
But all my friends have one.
It is being predicted
I know, but
Hey, there's food in the fridge.
I'm working late tonight.
And after work, mum has a gig.
And the more gigs I get,
the closer we are to an iPhone.
- Right?
- Yeah.
Go on. Here, don't forget your bag.
I'm standing here
with Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek.
What would you say to the shareholders
who worry about the negative reactions?
No, I'm not worried about that.
There's always going to be people
who are opposed to success
The doors are closing.
I LOVE I
First floor.
- Hey, great gig.
- Thanks.
- Yeah, I sent you the money.
- Thanks, awesome. See you.
See you. Take care.
You've only given me half.
What's going on?
I didn't sell as many drinks today as I
did last time or the time before that.
Wait a minute, I played a gig
you hired me to play.
Yeah, but do you want me to go broke
just so you can play here?
I mean, you get free PR by playing here.
People go home and stream your music.
That's great for you.
LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT!
Okay, I I don't know
how this will turn out,
but I have reached a place
where there's nothing more that I can do.
I am a musician.
I've worked my butt off releasing and
writing six albums in the last ten years.
I've had many hits. My songs are played
close to 200,000 times a month on Spotify.
However, I don't make
enough from any of that to pay my rent.
And I take all the gigs I can get,
I have a job on the side,
everything for the privilege
to make music.
Even though I tell myself every day
that soon things might improve,
if I write a hit song, or end up
on the right playlist, things will change.
But the truth is
that the system is totally broken.
The music industry made
23 million dollars last year.
And the record companies are thriving.
They're making more money
now than they did before piracy.
The ten people
who make the most money in Sweden
come from the same
streaming company every year.
Despite that, all the artists
who create music for their platform
can barely survive.
Daniel
Today you liked one of my songs.
You added it to your playlist,
which is awesome.
But if you really liked it,
how about you sit down and talk to us.
Help us create a new discussion
about the streaming business.
Help us make a new system, a music
industry where we can actually survive.
BOBBI T THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN
Nadja? Hi. What's going on?
I love you so much! You are amazing!
Oh, you are so great! Thanks!
- Have you lost you mind or something?
- No, your post!
You've done more with one video
than we've done with 15 demonstrations.
And it's perfect that it was you!
This is really great to hear, but I have
to get Naomi ready for school.
Then I have got to go work, so I
Are you kidding right now?
This is so fucking big!
I don't know what you're talking about?
- Everything okay?
- Absolutely.
I know this is something you dismissed
a long time ago and
Well, you may not like that I bring it up,
but considering the situation and
I'm sorry to interrupt,
but have you been online?
- No.
- Take a look.
CHILDHOOD FRIEND CHALLENGES DANIEL EK.
Bobbi Thomasson, musician
and childhood friend of Daniel Ek
posted an emotional and personal video
on her Instagram story yesterday.
Daniel, today you liked one of my songs.
You added it to your playlist,
which is awesome.
But if you really liked it,
how about you sit down and talk to us.
Since last night, the video
has been shared more than 12,000 times,
and has the support from a growing
number of other musicians.
Everybody, this is Bobbi Thomasson,
she can get to Daniel Ek.
Hi.
Well, we've been doing this for months,
but nobody really
cared until after your post.
- Bobbi.
- Rhonda.
Nice to meet you.
We put your video on our feed.
It's gotten over 20,000 likes
in under two hours.
And the hashtag 'Scratch the Record',
trending since yesterday.
You connected with people,
now we are all in.
No, I don't think
that I'm the right person for this.
I just posted a video
because I was tired and cranky.
No, you're an activist.
We are all activists now.
They've forced us into this.
Well, this may sound a bit strange,
but I know Daniel Ek, okay?
We grew up together, and I mean,
I support you 100%, of course,
but I posted the video
because I wanted to start a dialogue.
And regardless, I have to wait and see
what he says.
Oh you haven't checked
your Instagram today?
He stopped following you this morning.
Daniel is not interested
in having a dialogue.
None of them are.
They want us to shut up,
they want us to go away.
Just so you know, there's
another protest happening by headquarters.
Okay.
Daniel, would you mind looking at this?
Yeah. What is this?
It's a proposed sale of Spotify.
I know that this isn't something
you've considered before,
but every CEO, every founder,
has to choose their moment.
- You've had an amazing journey.
- No, I won't sell Spotify.
You hired me to be somebody who's always
straight with you and tells you the truth.
And I'm doing that right now.
The market is still in our favor.
But what will you do
when the market value drops below the IPO?
I hired you because you're pragmatic
and stubborn, but this is too much.
Okay, and what do we do right now?
We'll have to borrow some more money.
Daniel, last year we already
borrowed more than one billion dollars.
We're gonna have to borrow some
more and that's how we get through this.
We'll do some more acquisitions, invest
in some new tech, like we've always done.
This is your way out.
If you sell Spotify,
you protect your legacy.
You also protect your brand,
you protect what you've built
I won't sell Spotify, I
I'm not retiring yet.
- Daniel
- What?
Scratch the Record! Scratch the Record!
Whoa!
Okay, hold your heads down.
Security is here.
Shit!
Scratch the Record! Scratch the Record!
- Daniel, this is outrageous!
- Yeah, I know.
- Just relax, okay?
- Relax?
The business model
that we have, it's fine.
We have new content, we'll give them more
support and soon we'll have Discovery Max.
There's no reason to panic.
No, I'm not here as Daniel Ek's enemy.
I'm here as someone who used to know him,
and who believed in the promises
he gave me and other musicians.
Scratch the record!
I'm here today
to say that enough is enough.
I have told my colleagues to be patient.
I've tried to believe in him.
But the average salary for an
employee at Spotify is 130,000 dollars,
while the musicians
who build his platform are on their knees.
Daniel Ek, it's time for you
to "Scratch the Record".
It's time for you to sit down and talk to
us, for real this time. We're waiting
- Unbelievable.
- Yeah.
This pantomime is distracting the whole
office. It's a public disturbance.
- We should call the police now.
- We can't call the police.
This is a platform for musicians. How
will it look like if they're arrested
- outside our office?
- Exactly.
Well, it looks like the police
decided to turn up anyway.
This is illegal demonstration.
You're disturbing the peace
- and we ask you to leave immediately.
- Shit.
Scratch the Record!
Let her go!
- Don't hold me!
- You're disturbing, please discard now!
I repeat, this is an illegal,
demonstration. You're disturbing the peace
and we ask you to leave immediately.
Anyone who remains on this premises will
will be arrested.
This is bad, Daniel.
I think it's a story
just because it's in Sweden.
We shouldn't forget
that we are listed in New York.
We have more Chinese shareholders
than Swedish ones.
But this may affect your ability
to borrow more money. You know what?
I'm working myself to death,
I run from bank to bank.
And you know
what the first thing is they ask about?
These protests.
Daniel you made it clear
that you don't want to sell Spotify.
You want me to find more money
that will enable new innovations.
Okay. Well in that case, you will have
to make sure this doesn't get any bigger.
One thing that I've
learned during my in politics
"Never let yourself become the story."
- Do you want to play with us, Papa?
- Yeah, maybe later.
Hi.
You okay?
You're everywhere, Daniel.
These protests,
they're not gonna die down.
All those sorry those damn protesters
who say that Spotify needs to change,
- I don't even understand they mean.
- Are these the new designs?
- Yeah.
- Mm.
About this, erh
Ernst was a bit worried
that you might think it's a bit too big.
Don't compromise.
I think we should make it even bigger.
Hello. Did you get hold of Sundin?
Okay, tell that traitor
that I'm on my way.
- Hey.
- Hey yourself!
How are you? Nice to see you.
- It's nice to see you too..
- So, you okay?
- Yeah, well I'm alive.
- Yes, I know.
Discovery Max looked
I saw some test results. They were
Here is the deal.
I need you to do something.
Okay
I want you to call Bobbi Thomasson.
I want you to explain to her
that this thing she's doing can only be
detrimental.
That it's based on a complete
misunderstanding of how Spotify works.
I don't think I've seen
Bobbi in about ten years.
I can try to get her
contact information and then you
Hold on. Did you say try?
- Yes, I can try to get hold of
- She was your performer.
You were the one who signed her.
You promoted her.
- You can contact her.
- No, I can't.
I know what's going on.
You use these people,
sign them, use them for money,
and then when you
are finished, you forget them.
When Bobbi is upset about what she earns,
does she turn to a Universal or a BMG?
Does she turn to any of the people
who are responsible for what she earns?
No, she and her stupid, fucking friends
of hers set up camp outside my office,
throwing all their fucking shit at me.
Did I sign her? Did I encourage her?
Did I encourage any of these over millions
of people who live in that fantasy
that you have sold them, that they
might be the next Drake or Taylor Swift,
getting them to sign shameless contracts
they are too young to understand.
But who do they hold responsible?
Let me give you an answer, me!
But you don't care!
Of course not! Why would you?
You and the record companies got what
you wanted, 70% of what we make.
Yeah, you got a really good deal there.
And I'm the stupid
bastard who fucking agreed to it all.
It's gonna be a while.
RESTAURAN
At a bar in Rågsved?
Uhm mh.
- Why are you here, Daniel?
- I think we should talk.
Now? When I have a gig?
I don't care whether other people protest.
But you, Bobbi, you know me.
That's why I joined them. If you
don't know someone, you won't listen.
But what is it you want me to listen to?
A bunch of people who refuse
to accept the world has changed?
That's not true, it hasn't changed at all.
It's like a fucking bad dream.
Maybe you haven't understood
how to make the most of Spotify.
- Please, don't do this.
- Listen to me. I just wanted to say
If you let me I will show you
how to make the most of Spotify.
And then? Are you going to pay a visit to
the other 1.5 million performers and what?
- Tell them all your secrets as well?
- You remember how it was?
You told me that
Pirate Bay uploaded all of your songs.
So we should be grateful that they aren't
stealing from us like 15 years ago?
No, that's not what I mean. Come on.
You're talking about your journey
But what about our journey?
All the millions of musicians who have
absolutely no control of money they earn.
It can't be my responsibility
to help the careers of all the artists.
Why not? You are the most powerful
person in the music industry right now.
You are the system
and that's what you wanted.
You wanted to create
the biggest music platform in the world.
- Bobbi, it's time.
- Okay.
- Nice place
- Bulshit.
My point is, you don't
actually want to help us.
Bobbi, I do want to help you.
Bobbi, come on.
Okay, yeah.
To reach for the other's stars ♪
I've got splendid ♪
The future has in store, ♪
We'll never know ♪
Though time may help you forget ♪
All that has happened before ♪
It's too late to regret ♪
But the scar won't be no more ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
No more doubts, no more fears ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
My luck is returning ♪
All these years I've been learning ♪
To save fingers from burning ♪
My only concern ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
When somebody is gone ♪
There's another to come ♪
You can't stop years drifting by ♪
Even if you want to try ♪
Though time may help you forget ♪
What is gone won't be no more. ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
No more doubts, no more fears ♪
Tomorrow is my turn,
My luck is returning ♪
All these years I've been learning,
To save fingers from burning ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
No more doubts, no more fears ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
To receive without giving
To make life with the living ♪
For it's my life I'm living ♪
My only concern is ♪
That tomorrow is ♪
My turn ♪
Ey ey ♪
Thank you for staying for the whole gig.
What's wrong?
I understand that you want me to
to change Spotify.
But the changes that you want me to make,
would destroy us.
It doesn't have to be that way.
You have your songs, Bobbi.
Your music That's what Spotify is to me.
Everything I am is a part of that.
And it doesn't matter what you say,
I will never let anyone take that
away from me.
Scratch the Record.
A movement
called 'Scratch The Record'
is now spreading around the world.
The Swedish artist
named Bobbi Thomasson
BREAKING - PROTESTS ACROSS EUROPE
THOUSANDS OF MUSICIANS MARCHING
THE BIGGEST REUNION OF MUSICIANS
AND FANS TO THIS DAY IN PARIS
Protest against Spotify
SCRATCH THE RECORD SPOKESWOMAN BOBBI
THOMANSSON HAS RISEN SUPERNOVA FAME
Scratch the record.
This is bullshit.
You know they only reason
they brought us here is to humiliate us.
It's the US Senate Daniel,
they're meant to humiliate us.
But I'm not supposed to be here.
I'm not American citizen.
Daniel, you've got this.
You know what it is? It's theater.
You're the CEO, Daniel.
You run the company.
If we lose this argument
in front of the committee,
our whole business could be screwed,
so please, just don't resist.
Yeah? Focus. Stay cool and calmly
answer everything they throw at you.
We're here.
What kind of power do they really have?
The kind of power that can
recommend a fixed price of a stream,
regulate everything
and completely destroy our business model.
You have to focus on the Senator Landy.
This is her hearing. She pushed for it.
She's staked everything on this.
Do not let her win.
Daniel?
Okay.
What the fuck is she doing here?
Forget about her. She's irrelevant.
She's here as a representative
or some shit. Whatever, who cares?
You have to shut Lanley down.
What about the everyone else?
Keep them engaged. As long as they
make eye contact with you, we're good.
As soon as they start avoiding
your gaze, we're fucked. And Daniel
you can do this.
Do you swear to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth,
- so help you God?
- I do.
Could you please identify
yourself for the committee?
My name is Daniel Ek
and I'm the CEO and co-founder of Spotify.
Mr. Ek, you previously
described Spotify's mission as
"To unlock the potential
of human creativity
by giving a million artists
the opportunity to live off their art."
Yes.
How is your progress towards that?
Excellent. Our top tier club of artistes
who can support themselves from streams
has doubled in the last three
years and tripled since 2015.
That's impressive
So, at your current rate of growth,
you would hit that one million
figure in just under 75 years?
Your business model
just doesn't work for musicians, does it?
That's not true.
What are the average earnings
of an artiste not in your top tier?
Well, the number of artistes
changes so fast for us to know.
Mr. Ek, from your own data,
I can see here that the figure is
12 dollars a month.
- Could you live off that?
- Well, that number is not verified.
It's taken from your own results.
Excuse me, Madam Chairwoman. Mr. Ek
Isn't it the case that Spotify
is just one platform among many?
Yes, that is correct.
Spotify is one platform among many,
and artistes have several platforms
to earn an income from.
It's not fair to put all that on Spotify.
What percentage of the streaming
market does Spotify control?
I believe it's around 25%, Senator.
You control almost 45%
of the US market alone.
In some countries,
your share is as high as 60%.
Five times as many users
as your nearest rival.
To all intents and purposes,
you are a monopoly.
We are not a monopoly.
No artiste can take themselves
off your platform,
no artiste can risk losing
exposure to your audience.
You control streaming and
you control the fate of musicians.
Oh I'm sorry, Senator.
Was there a question in there, or?
Do you believe the size of your business
model creates a problem for artistes?
Spotify is about partnering
with the artiste,
In building the music industry with
them, they create a future together.
When the Copyright Royalty Board
awarded songwriters
their first raise in almost 50
years, how did Spotify react?
- We sought clarification.
- You sought clarification?
You took them to court.
You lodged an appeal against them,
and you got lawyers to argue for
a cut in what they're paid.
Does that sound like a company
that supports artistes?
It sounds like a company
that has its own approach,
but we support songwriters.
We partner with them, we champion them.
You use your size and marketing
budget to silence your critics, Mr. Ek.
At every opportunity,
you do everything you can to drive down
the share you pay musicians.
Don't you think you have a
responsibility to these people?
I believe that musicians
need to understand
that I'm the best friend they've got.
I'm the only one who's not lying to them.
I'm the only one who's honest
about the fact that we can't go back,
that this is a completely new industry
with new rules and new principles.
I'm the one working day and night
to create the opportunities
that they need to achieve their dreams.
What is Discovery Max?
Discovery Max is a perfect example.
It's a service that helps artistes.
Discovery Max is a service,
in which you take
a bigger share of the artist's royalty,
and in return offer them extra promotion.
Well, Discovery Max is an exchange
between Spotify and the artiste.
It is straight up music industry payola,
and it has to stop.
You're splitting hairs, Mr. Ek.
You reduce the artist's royalty
and in return you fix the game.
We're not fixing anything.
The major record companies own
almost 20% of Spotify, don't they?
It's possible. That's
It's around that number, yes.
So, the musicians are on the labels,
the labels own part of Spotify, Spotify
decides which musicians get promoted,
and then the income from the streams
goes straight back to those labels.
What part of that
does not sound like a cartel?
We're not a cartel.
You control the market.
You're in bed with your suppliers.
And then, at every turn,
you use your reach and your technology
to drive down the share
that you pay musicians,
to pay the people that depend on you
and your platform to make a living wage.
Can you seriously sit there and tell me
that in any other part of the world,
this would be considered acceptable?
There's a lot of negative comments.
The word cartel seem to resonate.
It's a few voices on social media,
It's nothing to
Let's just hope they put her under
the kind of pressure they put you under.
Would you please identify yourself
for the committee?
My name is Bobbi Thomasson.
I'm a musician, but I'm here today
as the US and global head of a musicians
group called "Scratch the Record".
That's a musicians' advocacy group?
Yes, that's correct.
And what are you advocating?
When our music is used,
when it's streamed,
we argue that musicians deserve
to be paid a fixed price per stream.
And we want that to be recognized in law.
We would all like to get paid more, but
that doesn't mean we can change the law.
Musicians have lobbied streamers
for a decent cut,
but all we ever get are words.
We need a law.
In every generation,
there are winners and losers.
And people say that's just how it is.
But this Senate has always been
able to tell the difference
between change and exploitation.
Miss Thomasson, with all respect,
you're not a front line worker, you're
a musician and you chose to do that.
So you want musicians
to accept that music is precious,
but they're interchangeable?
- That's not what I said.
- It is what you said.
It's what everybody always says.
But if you want to enjoy something,
you have no right to ignore
the conditions it was made in.
Spotify is It's just a platform.
Spotify churns out a product
to millions of phones and laptops,
like a factory,
and the workers
that supply that product are musicians.
Spotify is always telling us how
grateful we should be for that exposure,
but I'm here to say
that you can't pay the bills with likes.
We don't care
how many analytics you build,
how many different ways you tell us
we have more listeners in Boston
than Stockholm.
When our work is used,
we want to get paid.
Why is that this Senate's business?
Why is that not for the market?
Or for the consumer?
Because, in 1938,
this was the Senate that introduced
a statuary minimum wage for the employees
of the new steel and oil industries.
Senators saw that the world had changed.
A new law was needed.
That minimum wage looks obvious now.
But the bosses fought it.
Law makers had to see that the oil
companies simply had too much power.
That is exactly where we are today.
This is about the big monopolies of today.
It's about whether we have the
courage to see that musicians
are no different to oil and steel workers.
We deserve the same rights
the same recognition
and until we acknowledge that,
streaming will always be exploitation.
Bullshit. Exploitation? The law?
Who the fuck does she think she is?
She's someone who knows
she's got the support of several senators.
So what if she does? So do we. We have
Lobbyists. We have influence.
Do not go and talk to her, Daniel.
I can't just ignore her anymore.
Just stay calm.
Hmm
Hey.
Hey.
Well, that was You were impressive.
- I know you don't mean that.
- I do, unfortunately yeah.
I'm just the messenger.
But the message, Bobbi,
you can't be serious.
Exploitation?
You compared Spotify to an oil company.
I remember what you said at the start
I remember your promise that everybody
would benefit from Spotify.
Think about that.
- Daniel.
- Yeah?
- It's done.
- What's done?
I just spoke to the bank and they agreed.
Another billion. You got the loan.
Okay
What do we do about all this?
Do you think the bank cares about what
a bunch of activists or senators think?
In all this chaos
they heard only one thing: 45%.
You control the market.
That's all they care about.
Uhm. What do you think?
Maybe you're right.
I might have been in politics for long.
But listen
This is the last loan we can take out.
You have to figure out the business model.
If you can't do that,
do not take the money.
Thanks.
Are you all okay?
Do you know where Bobbi went?
Mmm-hmm.
You know what I regret most about Spotify?
That I didn't walk
out on the negotiations.
When you're sitting there in the
first talks about the music rights
I should have said that,
"This is the future.
If you want to be a part of it,
it has to be on our terms."
That would have been so damn beautiful.
So what you're saying is
that everything would have been better
if you'd stopped listening to people?
Yeah.
That was the last shot for me
and you too, guys!
Subtitle Translation by: Adefoluke Adebayo
I never thought we would be ♪
And I hope that
You'll forgive me one day ♪
Everything has to come to an end ♪
Don't go lay it all on,
Lay it all on me ♪
You should know
That what we had together ♪
It won't happen with anyone else ♪
Looks like I let it go for the latter ♪
Don't ever put the blame on me ♪
Don't ever put the blame on ♪
Me ♪
She'd do it right, do it like
She ain't been working day and night ♪
Press your collar ♪
NEWS - PROTESTS CONTINUE
OUTSIDE SPOTIFY'S HQ
Have you checked your pulse?
- Sorry?
- Have you checked your pulse?
Thanks for coming on a Sunday.
Yeah, it's no big deal.
Is Jim here?
- Yes, he's in the pavilion.
- Okay yeah, good.
- Jim!
- Daniel.
- Good to see you. How are you?
- I'm great, and you?
- Yeah I'm good. Thank you for coming.
- No problem.
Always a pleasure to come over here
and get down to the nitty-gritty.
- Yeah.
- How's the Arsenal doing?
Fucking terrible, they lost again.
- They'd be better off with you in charge.
- Yeah. Your words, not mine.
So
As you know, we have an urgent
need to maximize revenue,
or at least bring down our cost base.
If this business is gonna thrive,
we have to reduce the cost of the music.
That's the main reason we spent the
last few years testing Discovery Max,
and now, finally,
we have some useful data.
Yeah, and?
Fucking fantastic.
Yeah?
The artists have seen their followers go
through the roof. They fucking love this.
- Alright.
- When they get the promotion boost,
they are seeing listener growth
of 40, 50, even 100%.
Concert sales and merch sales
are going up
Everybody who signed up to it
said they'd do it again, no question.
Why don't we roll it out
across the whole company?
Because it's highly contentious.
And because we only promote bands that
agree to hand back a cut of their royalty.
The artists consent to everything.
We're not charging anyone a penny.
It's a win-win situation, a new business
model for a new kind of music industry.
Well the Musicians' Union calls it payola.
And Senator Madison Landy of the US Senate
wrote Spotify a letter expressing
significant concern
that we are participating
in anti-competitive activities.
Well, that's not fucking good.
Bottom line is that 70% of everything
we bring in on the music,
goes straight back
to the record companies. 70%!
What other business
has to deal with those kind of costs?
Discovery Max is
Spotify doing things its own way.
It's us showing innovation,
reshaping music.
It's us putting power
into musicians' hands.
By halving their royalties.
I mean, If we don't push the
boundaries, we are not gonna survive.
Listen, what you and your team
have done is amazing, and I love it,
but we do need to take this
step by step. I mean
For now, let's just
let's roll it out in a way that keeps
everyone on our side, okay?
- Hi honey.
- Hi.
- How was the meeting?
- It was good.
Is this the new architect?
- That's exactly what it is.
- Yeah, okay.
- Are they tearing it all down?
- Yeah. Yeah, I think so.
Should I pick up the kids?
- No. No, your mom will do that.
- Oh, okay.
Hey You aren't worried?
About the protests?
- No.
- No?
But I can see that you are.
I'm just worried
they're gonna blame you for this you know
No, they won't blame me for anything.
Look at this. This singer has been
on Spotify since the start.
Do you know why she stays?
Because she knows we're the best.
It's as simple as that.
I promise.
Spotify, what we want
A small but persistent group
has been protesting outside Spotify's
headquarters here in Stockholm.
We are all activists now.
They have forced us into it.
These comments are from protest
leader Nadja Johansson, an ex-musician,
who feels forced to act
because of the situation
Ok, let's see You know what?
Let's do this later.
You have to go to school.
I don't want you to be late today.
Can I have an iPhone?
No, I can't afford an iPhone, honey.
But all my friends have one.
It is being predicted
I know, but
Hey, there's food in the fridge.
I'm working late tonight.
And after work, mum has a gig.
And the more gigs I get,
the closer we are to an iPhone.
- Right?
- Yeah.
Go on. Here, don't forget your bag.
I'm standing here
with Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek.
What would you say to the shareholders
who worry about the negative reactions?
No, I'm not worried about that.
There's always going to be people
who are opposed to success
The doors are closing.
I LOVE I
First floor.
- Hey, great gig.
- Thanks.
- Yeah, I sent you the money.
- Thanks, awesome. See you.
See you. Take care.
You've only given me half.
What's going on?
I didn't sell as many drinks today as I
did last time or the time before that.
Wait a minute, I played a gig
you hired me to play.
Yeah, but do you want me to go broke
just so you can play here?
I mean, you get free PR by playing here.
People go home and stream your music.
That's great for you.
LIVE MUSIC TONIGHT!
Okay, I I don't know
how this will turn out,
but I have reached a place
where there's nothing more that I can do.
I am a musician.
I've worked my butt off releasing and
writing six albums in the last ten years.
I've had many hits. My songs are played
close to 200,000 times a month on Spotify.
However, I don't make
enough from any of that to pay my rent.
And I take all the gigs I can get,
I have a job on the side,
everything for the privilege
to make music.
Even though I tell myself every day
that soon things might improve,
if I write a hit song, or end up
on the right playlist, things will change.
But the truth is
that the system is totally broken.
The music industry made
23 million dollars last year.
And the record companies are thriving.
They're making more money
now than they did before piracy.
The ten people
who make the most money in Sweden
come from the same
streaming company every year.
Despite that, all the artists
who create music for their platform
can barely survive.
Daniel
Today you liked one of my songs.
You added it to your playlist,
which is awesome.
But if you really liked it,
how about you sit down and talk to us.
Help us create a new discussion
about the streaming business.
Help us make a new system, a music
industry where we can actually survive.
BOBBI T THE SYSTEM IS BROKEN
Nadja? Hi. What's going on?
I love you so much! You are amazing!
Oh, you are so great! Thanks!
- Have you lost you mind or something?
- No, your post!
You've done more with one video
than we've done with 15 demonstrations.
And it's perfect that it was you!
This is really great to hear, but I have
to get Naomi ready for school.
Then I have got to go work, so I
Are you kidding right now?
This is so fucking big!
I don't know what you're talking about?
- Everything okay?
- Absolutely.
I know this is something you dismissed
a long time ago and
Well, you may not like that I bring it up,
but considering the situation and
I'm sorry to interrupt,
but have you been online?
- No.
- Take a look.
CHILDHOOD FRIEND CHALLENGES DANIEL EK.
Bobbi Thomasson, musician
and childhood friend of Daniel Ek
posted an emotional and personal video
on her Instagram story yesterday.
Daniel, today you liked one of my songs.
You added it to your playlist,
which is awesome.
But if you really liked it,
how about you sit down and talk to us.
Since last night, the video
has been shared more than 12,000 times,
and has the support from a growing
number of other musicians.
Everybody, this is Bobbi Thomasson,
she can get to Daniel Ek.
Hi.
Well, we've been doing this for months,
but nobody really
cared until after your post.
- Bobbi.
- Rhonda.
Nice to meet you.
We put your video on our feed.
It's gotten over 20,000 likes
in under two hours.
And the hashtag 'Scratch the Record',
trending since yesterday.
You connected with people,
now we are all in.
No, I don't think
that I'm the right person for this.
I just posted a video
because I was tired and cranky.
No, you're an activist.
We are all activists now.
They've forced us into this.
Well, this may sound a bit strange,
but I know Daniel Ek, okay?
We grew up together, and I mean,
I support you 100%, of course,
but I posted the video
because I wanted to start a dialogue.
And regardless, I have to wait and see
what he says.
Oh you haven't checked
your Instagram today?
He stopped following you this morning.
Daniel is not interested
in having a dialogue.
None of them are.
They want us to shut up,
they want us to go away.
Just so you know, there's
another protest happening by headquarters.
Okay.
Daniel, would you mind looking at this?
Yeah. What is this?
It's a proposed sale of Spotify.
I know that this isn't something
you've considered before,
but every CEO, every founder,
has to choose their moment.
- You've had an amazing journey.
- No, I won't sell Spotify.
You hired me to be somebody who's always
straight with you and tells you the truth.
And I'm doing that right now.
The market is still in our favor.
But what will you do
when the market value drops below the IPO?
I hired you because you're pragmatic
and stubborn, but this is too much.
Okay, and what do we do right now?
We'll have to borrow some more money.
Daniel, last year we already
borrowed more than one billion dollars.
We're gonna have to borrow some
more and that's how we get through this.
We'll do some more acquisitions, invest
in some new tech, like we've always done.
This is your way out.
If you sell Spotify,
you protect your legacy.
You also protect your brand,
you protect what you've built
I won't sell Spotify, I
I'm not retiring yet.
- Daniel
- What?
Scratch the Record! Scratch the Record!
Whoa!
Okay, hold your heads down.
Security is here.
Shit!
Scratch the Record! Scratch the Record!
- Daniel, this is outrageous!
- Yeah, I know.
- Just relax, okay?
- Relax?
The business model
that we have, it's fine.
We have new content, we'll give them more
support and soon we'll have Discovery Max.
There's no reason to panic.
No, I'm not here as Daniel Ek's enemy.
I'm here as someone who used to know him,
and who believed in the promises
he gave me and other musicians.
Scratch the record!
I'm here today
to say that enough is enough.
I have told my colleagues to be patient.
I've tried to believe in him.
But the average salary for an
employee at Spotify is 130,000 dollars,
while the musicians
who build his platform are on their knees.
Daniel Ek, it's time for you
to "Scratch the Record".
It's time for you to sit down and talk to
us, for real this time. We're waiting
- Unbelievable.
- Yeah.
This pantomime is distracting the whole
office. It's a public disturbance.
- We should call the police now.
- We can't call the police.
This is a platform for musicians. How
will it look like if they're arrested
- outside our office?
- Exactly.
Well, it looks like the police
decided to turn up anyway.
This is illegal demonstration.
You're disturbing the peace
- and we ask you to leave immediately.
- Shit.
Scratch the Record!
Let her go!
- Don't hold me!
- You're disturbing, please discard now!
I repeat, this is an illegal,
demonstration. You're disturbing the peace
and we ask you to leave immediately.
Anyone who remains on this premises will
will be arrested.
This is bad, Daniel.
I think it's a story
just because it's in Sweden.
We shouldn't forget
that we are listed in New York.
We have more Chinese shareholders
than Swedish ones.
But this may affect your ability
to borrow more money. You know what?
I'm working myself to death,
I run from bank to bank.
And you know
what the first thing is they ask about?
These protests.
Daniel you made it clear
that you don't want to sell Spotify.
You want me to find more money
that will enable new innovations.
Okay. Well in that case, you will have
to make sure this doesn't get any bigger.
One thing that I've
learned during my in politics
"Never let yourself become the story."
- Do you want to play with us, Papa?
- Yeah, maybe later.
Hi.
You okay?
You're everywhere, Daniel.
These protests,
they're not gonna die down.
All those sorry those damn protesters
who say that Spotify needs to change,
- I don't even understand they mean.
- Are these the new designs?
- Yeah.
- Mm.
About this, erh
Ernst was a bit worried
that you might think it's a bit too big.
Don't compromise.
I think we should make it even bigger.
Hello. Did you get hold of Sundin?
Okay, tell that traitor
that I'm on my way.
- Hey.
- Hey yourself!
How are you? Nice to see you.
- It's nice to see you too..
- So, you okay?
- Yeah, well I'm alive.
- Yes, I know.
Discovery Max looked
I saw some test results. They were
Here is the deal.
I need you to do something.
Okay
I want you to call Bobbi Thomasson.
I want you to explain to her
that this thing she's doing can only be
detrimental.
That it's based on a complete
misunderstanding of how Spotify works.
I don't think I've seen
Bobbi in about ten years.
I can try to get her
contact information and then you
Hold on. Did you say try?
- Yes, I can try to get hold of
- She was your performer.
You were the one who signed her.
You promoted her.
- You can contact her.
- No, I can't.
I know what's going on.
You use these people,
sign them, use them for money,
and then when you
are finished, you forget them.
When Bobbi is upset about what she earns,
does she turn to a Universal or a BMG?
Does she turn to any of the people
who are responsible for what she earns?
No, she and her stupid, fucking friends
of hers set up camp outside my office,
throwing all their fucking shit at me.
Did I sign her? Did I encourage her?
Did I encourage any of these over millions
of people who live in that fantasy
that you have sold them, that they
might be the next Drake or Taylor Swift,
getting them to sign shameless contracts
they are too young to understand.
But who do they hold responsible?
Let me give you an answer, me!
But you don't care!
Of course not! Why would you?
You and the record companies got what
you wanted, 70% of what we make.
Yeah, you got a really good deal there.
And I'm the stupid
bastard who fucking agreed to it all.
It's gonna be a while.
RESTAURAN
At a bar in Rågsved?
Uhm mh.
- Why are you here, Daniel?
- I think we should talk.
Now? When I have a gig?
I don't care whether other people protest.
But you, Bobbi, you know me.
That's why I joined them. If you
don't know someone, you won't listen.
But what is it you want me to listen to?
A bunch of people who refuse
to accept the world has changed?
That's not true, it hasn't changed at all.
It's like a fucking bad dream.
Maybe you haven't understood
how to make the most of Spotify.
- Please, don't do this.
- Listen to me. I just wanted to say
If you let me I will show you
how to make the most of Spotify.
And then? Are you going to pay a visit to
the other 1.5 million performers and what?
- Tell them all your secrets as well?
- You remember how it was?
You told me that
Pirate Bay uploaded all of your songs.
So we should be grateful that they aren't
stealing from us like 15 years ago?
No, that's not what I mean. Come on.
You're talking about your journey
But what about our journey?
All the millions of musicians who have
absolutely no control of money they earn.
It can't be my responsibility
to help the careers of all the artists.
Why not? You are the most powerful
person in the music industry right now.
You are the system
and that's what you wanted.
You wanted to create
the biggest music platform in the world.
- Bobbi, it's time.
- Okay.
- Nice place
- Bulshit.
My point is, you don't
actually want to help us.
Bobbi, I do want to help you.
Bobbi, come on.
Okay, yeah.
To reach for the other's stars ♪
I've got splendid ♪
The future has in store, ♪
We'll never know ♪
Though time may help you forget ♪
All that has happened before ♪
It's too late to regret ♪
But the scar won't be no more ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
No more doubts, no more fears ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
My luck is returning ♪
All these years I've been learning ♪
To save fingers from burning ♪
My only concern ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
When somebody is gone ♪
There's another to come ♪
You can't stop years drifting by ♪
Even if you want to try ♪
Though time may help you forget ♪
What is gone won't be no more. ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
No more doubts, no more fears ♪
Tomorrow is my turn,
My luck is returning ♪
All these years I've been learning,
To save fingers from burning ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
No more doubts, no more fears ♪
Tomorrow is my turn ♪
To receive without giving
To make life with the living ♪
For it's my life I'm living ♪
My only concern is ♪
That tomorrow is ♪
My turn ♪
Ey ey ♪
Thank you for staying for the whole gig.
What's wrong?
I understand that you want me to
to change Spotify.
But the changes that you want me to make,
would destroy us.
It doesn't have to be that way.
You have your songs, Bobbi.
Your music That's what Spotify is to me.
Everything I am is a part of that.
And it doesn't matter what you say,
I will never let anyone take that
away from me.
Scratch the Record.
A movement
called 'Scratch The Record'
is now spreading around the world.
The Swedish artist
named Bobbi Thomasson
BREAKING - PROTESTS ACROSS EUROPE
THOUSANDS OF MUSICIANS MARCHING
THE BIGGEST REUNION OF MUSICIANS
AND FANS TO THIS DAY IN PARIS
Protest against Spotify
SCRATCH THE RECORD SPOKESWOMAN BOBBI
THOMANSSON HAS RISEN SUPERNOVA FAME
Scratch the record.
This is bullshit.
You know they only reason
they brought us here is to humiliate us.
It's the US Senate Daniel,
they're meant to humiliate us.
But I'm not supposed to be here.
I'm not American citizen.
Daniel, you've got this.
You know what it is? It's theater.
You're the CEO, Daniel.
You run the company.
If we lose this argument
in front of the committee,
our whole business could be screwed,
so please, just don't resist.
Yeah? Focus. Stay cool and calmly
answer everything they throw at you.
We're here.
What kind of power do they really have?
The kind of power that can
recommend a fixed price of a stream,
regulate everything
and completely destroy our business model.
You have to focus on the Senator Landy.
This is her hearing. She pushed for it.
She's staked everything on this.
Do not let her win.
Daniel?
Okay.
What the fuck is she doing here?
Forget about her. She's irrelevant.
She's here as a representative
or some shit. Whatever, who cares?
You have to shut Lanley down.
What about the everyone else?
Keep them engaged. As long as they
make eye contact with you, we're good.
As soon as they start avoiding
your gaze, we're fucked. And Daniel
you can do this.
Do you swear to tell the truth,
the whole truth and nothing but the truth,
- so help you God?
- I do.
Could you please identify
yourself for the committee?
My name is Daniel Ek
and I'm the CEO and co-founder of Spotify.
Mr. Ek, you previously
described Spotify's mission as
"To unlock the potential
of human creativity
by giving a million artists
the opportunity to live off their art."
Yes.
How is your progress towards that?
Excellent. Our top tier club of artistes
who can support themselves from streams
has doubled in the last three
years and tripled since 2015.
That's impressive
So, at your current rate of growth,
you would hit that one million
figure in just under 75 years?
Your business model
just doesn't work for musicians, does it?
That's not true.
What are the average earnings
of an artiste not in your top tier?
Well, the number of artistes
changes so fast for us to know.
Mr. Ek, from your own data,
I can see here that the figure is
12 dollars a month.
- Could you live off that?
- Well, that number is not verified.
It's taken from your own results.
Excuse me, Madam Chairwoman. Mr. Ek
Isn't it the case that Spotify
is just one platform among many?
Yes, that is correct.
Spotify is one platform among many,
and artistes have several platforms
to earn an income from.
It's not fair to put all that on Spotify.
What percentage of the streaming
market does Spotify control?
I believe it's around 25%, Senator.
You control almost 45%
of the US market alone.
In some countries,
your share is as high as 60%.
Five times as many users
as your nearest rival.
To all intents and purposes,
you are a monopoly.
We are not a monopoly.
No artiste can take themselves
off your platform,
no artiste can risk losing
exposure to your audience.
You control streaming and
you control the fate of musicians.
Oh I'm sorry, Senator.
Was there a question in there, or?
Do you believe the size of your business
model creates a problem for artistes?
Spotify is about partnering
with the artiste,
In building the music industry with
them, they create a future together.
When the Copyright Royalty Board
awarded songwriters
their first raise in almost 50
years, how did Spotify react?
- We sought clarification.
- You sought clarification?
You took them to court.
You lodged an appeal against them,
and you got lawyers to argue for
a cut in what they're paid.
Does that sound like a company
that supports artistes?
It sounds like a company
that has its own approach,
but we support songwriters.
We partner with them, we champion them.
You use your size and marketing
budget to silence your critics, Mr. Ek.
At every opportunity,
you do everything you can to drive down
the share you pay musicians.
Don't you think you have a
responsibility to these people?
I believe that musicians
need to understand
that I'm the best friend they've got.
I'm the only one who's not lying to them.
I'm the only one who's honest
about the fact that we can't go back,
that this is a completely new industry
with new rules and new principles.
I'm the one working day and night
to create the opportunities
that they need to achieve their dreams.
What is Discovery Max?
Discovery Max is a perfect example.
It's a service that helps artistes.
Discovery Max is a service,
in which you take
a bigger share of the artist's royalty,
and in return offer them extra promotion.
Well, Discovery Max is an exchange
between Spotify and the artiste.
It is straight up music industry payola,
and it has to stop.
You're splitting hairs, Mr. Ek.
You reduce the artist's royalty
and in return you fix the game.
We're not fixing anything.
The major record companies own
almost 20% of Spotify, don't they?
It's possible. That's
It's around that number, yes.
So, the musicians are on the labels,
the labels own part of Spotify, Spotify
decides which musicians get promoted,
and then the income from the streams
goes straight back to those labels.
What part of that
does not sound like a cartel?
We're not a cartel.
You control the market.
You're in bed with your suppliers.
And then, at every turn,
you use your reach and your technology
to drive down the share
that you pay musicians,
to pay the people that depend on you
and your platform to make a living wage.
Can you seriously sit there and tell me
that in any other part of the world,
this would be considered acceptable?
There's a lot of negative comments.
The word cartel seem to resonate.
It's a few voices on social media,
It's nothing to
Let's just hope they put her under
the kind of pressure they put you under.
Would you please identify yourself
for the committee?
My name is Bobbi Thomasson.
I'm a musician, but I'm here today
as the US and global head of a musicians
group called "Scratch the Record".
That's a musicians' advocacy group?
Yes, that's correct.
And what are you advocating?
When our music is used,
when it's streamed,
we argue that musicians deserve
to be paid a fixed price per stream.
And we want that to be recognized in law.
We would all like to get paid more, but
that doesn't mean we can change the law.
Musicians have lobbied streamers
for a decent cut,
but all we ever get are words.
We need a law.
In every generation,
there are winners and losers.
And people say that's just how it is.
But this Senate has always been
able to tell the difference
between change and exploitation.
Miss Thomasson, with all respect,
you're not a front line worker, you're
a musician and you chose to do that.
So you want musicians
to accept that music is precious,
but they're interchangeable?
- That's not what I said.
- It is what you said.
It's what everybody always says.
But if you want to enjoy something,
you have no right to ignore
the conditions it was made in.
Spotify is It's just a platform.
Spotify churns out a product
to millions of phones and laptops,
like a factory,
and the workers
that supply that product are musicians.
Spotify is always telling us how
grateful we should be for that exposure,
but I'm here to say
that you can't pay the bills with likes.
We don't care
how many analytics you build,
how many different ways you tell us
we have more listeners in Boston
than Stockholm.
When our work is used,
we want to get paid.
Why is that this Senate's business?
Why is that not for the market?
Or for the consumer?
Because, in 1938,
this was the Senate that introduced
a statuary minimum wage for the employees
of the new steel and oil industries.
Senators saw that the world had changed.
A new law was needed.
That minimum wage looks obvious now.
But the bosses fought it.
Law makers had to see that the oil
companies simply had too much power.
That is exactly where we are today.
This is about the big monopolies of today.
It's about whether we have the
courage to see that musicians
are no different to oil and steel workers.
We deserve the same rights
the same recognition
and until we acknowledge that,
streaming will always be exploitation.
Bullshit. Exploitation? The law?
Who the fuck does she think she is?
She's someone who knows
she's got the support of several senators.
So what if she does? So do we. We have
Lobbyists. We have influence.
Do not go and talk to her, Daniel.
I can't just ignore her anymore.
Just stay calm.
Hmm
Hey.
Hey.
Well, that was You were impressive.
- I know you don't mean that.
- I do, unfortunately yeah.
I'm just the messenger.
But the message, Bobbi,
you can't be serious.
Exploitation?
You compared Spotify to an oil company.
I remember what you said at the start
I remember your promise that everybody
would benefit from Spotify.
Think about that.
- Daniel.
- Yeah?
- It's done.
- What's done?
I just spoke to the bank and they agreed.
Another billion. You got the loan.
Okay
What do we do about all this?
Do you think the bank cares about what
a bunch of activists or senators think?
In all this chaos
they heard only one thing: 45%.
You control the market.
That's all they care about.
Uhm. What do you think?
Maybe you're right.
I might have been in politics for long.
But listen
This is the last loan we can take out.
You have to figure out the business model.
If you can't do that,
do not take the money.
Thanks.
Are you all okay?
Do you know where Bobbi went?
Mmm-hmm.
You know what I regret most about Spotify?
That I didn't walk
out on the negotiations.
When you're sitting there in the
first talks about the music rights
I should have said that,
"This is the future.
If you want to be a part of it,
it has to be on our terms."
That would have been so damn beautiful.
So what you're saying is
that everything would have been better
if you'd stopped listening to people?
Yeah.
That was the last shot for me
and you too, guys!
Subtitle Translation by: Adefoluke Adebayo