Deezer, a French streaming service, has struck a deal with Universal Music Group to implement a new model that aims to prioritize professional artists and combat noise on their platform. The current streaming model assigns the same monetary value to ambient sounds and white noise as it does to actual songs. This has led to the gaming of the system spammers and the dilution of professional artists’ royalties. Under Deezer’s new model, streams of professional artists will count for double, and searching for specific artists will further increase their count. Non-artist noise audio will eventually be replaced with Deezer’s own functional music. Deezer estimates that approximately 7 percent of its streams are fraudulent, and removing white noise could boost Spotify’s annual gross profit $38 million. Deezer’s new model aims to stop gaming behavior and future-proof its platform addressing fraud and copyright infringement that may arise from AI-generated content. While the new model should benefit professional artists and increase their payouts, it has also raised concerns about the treatment of hobbyists and the definition of noise content. Deezer claims that hobbyists will still receive some payout, but artists who intentionally make deprofessionalized music may be affected. Additionally, determining what constitutes noise content and what counts as art may be a challenge. The deal between Deezer and Universal Music Group is seen as a step in the right direction for artists, but some critics argue that more needs to be done to create a fair streaming system for all types of musicians.
Sources: Deezer, Universal Music Group
