When the legendary rapper sat down to discuss his new album Dillagence II, he exposed how streaming platforms are literally paying artists in a currency that doesn’t exist.
This frustration isn’t isolated to one artist. T-Pain has been vocal about the same issue, pointing out that artists went from selling songs for a dollar to earning fractions of a cent per stream, roughly 0.003 cents per play. T.I. has been equally blunt about streaming’s impact, saying the platform has “watered down” the entire music industry. With roughly 150,000 songs uploaded daily, T.I. argues that established artists who spent years perfecting their craft now compete with anyone who can “walk straight from the liquor store in here and get a uniform.”
Busta made clear that streaming companies are making billions while artists get pennies, and until that changes, expect more rappers to follow his lead by owning their work and refusing insulting deals.