T-Pain Lets Everyone Know That Napster Is Still A Thing And Actually Pays The Most Among Streaming Services
I’m still shocked about yesterday’s revelation from T-Pain. He took to Twitter to share how many streams an artist needs to make $1 on the different streaming platforms. That’s when he dropped the revelation that Napster is still around. And not only that, but they pay better than Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal–you name it! Seriously, name some of these to me: what the fuck is the music streaming site Deezer?
Back in the day, Napster was the big name in ushering in the age of the download and are the ones who blazed the trail for apps like Limewire. If you haven’t heard “AOL Music, first listen…” randomly come on in the middle of a song you downloaded for free from Napster, you haven’t lived. Napster was founded by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker in 1999 but filed for bankruptcy in June 2002 after they were hit with numerous copyright infringement lawsuits. Metallica led the way in 2000 for “hijacking” their work and sharing unreleased music. After shutting down, Napster was reborn and they went legit by charging for subscriptions and paying out artists.
And it’s time for a plot twist because the villain of the music business is now the highest-payer, according to T-Pain. Complex says that Napster trended on Twitter when T-Pain revealed in a screenshot the pay-scale of streaming services:
According to the screenshot T-Pain shared, the OG streaming platform, which merged with Rhapsody after being purchased by Best Buy, paid artists the most money for streams when compared to heavy-hitters like Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal. Specifically, the screenshot of the chart shows how many times a song has to be streamed in order for the artist to make $1. It’s important to note that the numbers featured on the chart have not been verified.
Just so you know…… pic.twitter.com/t8m3PerxT9
— T-Pain (@TPAIN) December 29, 2021
T-Pain isn’t roasting these music companies for fun though, he explained he wanted to let up-and-coming artists know the tea about what to expect. But don’t worry “if you move right” you can also make millions of dollars like him:
I see a lot of “well I guess I’ll use the best one” and not “we gotta make our own” keep in mind, most artists don’t even get the whole $1. I’m just letting the up and coming know what the real is. I worked for mine and there are tons of ways around this if you move right
— T-Pain (@TPAIN) December 29, 2021
I wonder if T-Pain is going to explain the “ways around this” ever? Feels like there’s a crucial piece of the story missing. But then again, maybe T-Pain isn’t the best financial advisor since he once went “broke” after blowing through $40 million, including spending $1.2 million on a Bugatti. T-Pain probably learned his lesson, though, and the next time he wants to buy a $1.2 million Bugatti, he’ll stream “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper)” over 63 million times on Napster before doing so.
Pic: Wenn.com/Avalon