Music artists are losing billions because small businesses use personal Apple Music or Spotify accounts

“Artists and record companies lose $2.7 billion in revenue annually because small business owners typically stream music from personal accounts at cafes or barber shops rather than a commercial-use license,” Kim McLaughlin reports for Bloomberg.
“Music makers earn a lot more when their tunes are aired in restaurants, stores and other business venues to help drum up extra trade,” McLaughlin reports. “Consumer streaming services, such as from Spotify Technology SA and Apple Inc., don’t include those rights, according to a Nielsen study.”
“Nielsen Music interviewed about 5,000 small-business owners in the U.S. U.K., Sweden, Spain, Italy, Germany and France and found that 83 percent of those that play background music incorrectly use personal accounts. Nielsen estimates 21.3 million businesses use consumer services globally, costing artist billions in lower payouts,” McLaughlin reports. “A cafe or a shop pays about $35 a month for a commercial license, compared with about $10 for a consumer service.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: What about those bastages who play iPods (or, God forbid, CDs) on shuffle and/or repeat!