The author of the most popular song earned only $ 5679 on 178 million plays of the composition by Spotify users.

Performer of the song “All About That Bass”

Today, a discussion was held on the situation when the author of one of the most popular songs of recent years earned only $ 5679. We are talking about the song "All About That Bass", which only Spotify users have listened to more than 178 million times, writes Arstechnica.

The co-author of the song is Kevin Kadine, who is called one of the most successful songwriters for pop stars. Kevin filed a complaint with the US Congress, it is now considered by a commission in the House of Representatives. According to Kevin, the song is still the first on many charts in 78 countries. But the author’s earnings are only $ 5679. How can this happen?

The fact is that now the shared participation of songwriters who fall into music services is prescribed by a very old law adopted in 1911. In other words, the author’s share is determined not by the agreement with the music service, but by the government.

Kevin is not the first author to file a complaint against this law and request a review of the law. Back in 2013, the author of the song “Wake Me Up”, who earned about $ 12,359 for a song that was heard on Spotify about 168 million times, made a similar request to lawmakers.

So far, this issue is being considered by Congress. According to representatives of Spotify, royalties now amount to about $ 500 million per year. This includes royalties to the owners and creators of the composition. Then the deductions are split up already for a fee to performers, authors, music labels and other participants in the entire process of creating music.