In the hip-hop world, Snoop Dogg needs no introduction. Many people around the world enjoy his music. And, with the advent of streaming platforms, his music has been more widely available.
When streaming services were brought into mainstream music, it was heralded as a game changer since musicians could earn money based on how many people listened to or downloaded their music.
Until the advent of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), the primary way to make money online was through streaming. NFT is now a formidable opponent, which Snoop Dogg recognized early on.
Due to poor returns from streaming services, he turned to NFTs with the help of his son. The rapper remarked on the “Business Untitled” podcast that he was initially skeptical of NFTs, but Cordell Broadus helped him change his opinion.
“My son, he the one who spooned me and groomed me to this,” Snoop Dogg told “Business Untitled.” “In the beginning it was a bunch of motherf–kers just using my name, my face, and just doing all kind of sh-t…and he called me, he said, ‘Pops, it’s what you can’t do. You can’t be mad because if they using your face and your likeness, they love you. They just don’t know how they get in touch with you. So what you should do is reach out to them and say thanks or good looking out, or do you want to collaborate?’”
He shared that he received less than $45,000 after reaching a billion streams on Spotify. Sharing insights into the economics of streaming, he noted, “In the streaming world, I can show you right now. They just sent me some sh-t from Spotify, where I got a billion streams, right? My publisher hit me.
“I said, ‘Break that down, how much money is that?’ That sh-t wasn’t even $45,000… You see what I’m saying? So it’s like…when this sh-t came out, I could tell an artist that same song that you put out traditionally that didn’t make no money, give it to me. Every time you sell it if somebody else sells it you get 10% of it.”
Meanwhile, the Economic Times reports that Spotify pays artists around $0.0035 per stream. the platform adds that this amount doesn’t go directly to the artist, but to other parties like record labels, managers, and credited songwriters, along with Spotify taking a share.
The publication concluded that if Snoop Dogg’s claim is accurate, then it is remarkably low and raises questions about the accuracy of such estimates.