Spotify executives have reportedly cashed out over $1.1 billion in company stock in 2024, a figure that would take artists an astronomical 314 billion streams to match through royalties.
That’s according to Music Business Worldwide founder Tim Ingham, who on Wednesday bemoaned the disparity in a LinkedIn post.
A new report published by the outlet claims Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has sold 875,000 shares of Spotify for a total of $283 million this year. That figure pales in comparison to the cash amassed by Ek’s co-founder, Spotify ex-Chairman Martin Lorentzon, who has sold 1,488,364 shares for a staggering $556.77 million.
This eye-popping disparity underscores the ongoing tension between streaming platforms and musicians, who have long argued that today’s compensation structure is fundamentally broken. Streaming has transformed music consumption, but most artists—particularly independent musicians—struggle to earn a living wage from the royalties their songs generate.
A recent study suggested that independent artists need to accrue five million streams to earn the equivalent of the U.S. minimum wage. That was before Spotify’s controversial announcement that musicians and songwriters would need to meet a minimum streaming threshold before they’re eligible to accrue royalties.
The backlash recently came to a head after Ek myopically claimed that the cost of creating content is “close to zero” before attempting to walk back his comments, which he characterized as “clumsy.” Electronic music icon deadmau5 lambasted Ek at the time and threatened to remove his music catalog from Spotify.
Spotify stock has surged by 141% since the beginning of 2024, more than doubling in value, per Barron’s.