Spotify: The Anchoress makes no money from 750,000 streams

The Anchoress has released two studio albums and worked with the Manic Street Preachers, Simple Minds and Bernard Butler

Despite her album having been streamed 750,000 times, The Anchoress has not made a single penny from it.

On paper, 2020-21 was singer Catherine Davies' most successful year, yet she ended it failing to break even.

She described the situation as "pretty bleak" and said action was needed to stop musicians leaving the industry.

MPs, including Cardiff West's Kevin Brennan, called for artists to split profits equally with labels instead of receiving 16% for streaming.

"If streaming numbers had been record sales, I would have got a gold record on my wall for The Art of Losing," said Glynneath-born Davies.

"But I've earned nothing, not a penny, because of the structure of my label deal. There was a small advance but it didn't cover the cost of mixing."

• MPs call for complete reset of music streaming

• 33% of musicians earning nothing after pandemic

MPs are calling for a "complete reset" of the market, with musicians given a "fair share" of the £736.5m UK record labels earn from streaming.

However, industry trade body the BPI was more cautious and said streaming was "enabling more artists than ever" to earn a "long-term, sustainable income".

It said new policies should be properly examined to guard against "unintended consequences for investment into new talent".

At present, Spotify is believed to pay between £0.002 and £0.0038 per stream, while Apple Music pays about £0.0059 and YouTube around £0.00052.

Davies believes streaming services are a "double-edged sword", directing people who do not want to pay £10 for a CD or £25 for vinyl towards an artist's music.

She added: "It's a route to fans. I have 111,000 on Spotify and a top 40 record this year, but it doesn't trickle down.

"It needs to be better remunerated. None are doing it to become millionaires, but it would be nice to pay the mortgage."

Davies says more artists are using Bandcamp, which sees them retain profits

Davies also said it is "a massive myth" that touring was now the golden goose, with only those able to play in 1,000-capacity stadiums able to pull in decent earnings.

"It's pretty bleak at the moment - a lot of people have left the industry," she added.

"I laugh, it's been my most successful year on the surface, but financially it's been devastating. It's completely mad."

About 90% of musicians earn less than £1,000 a month, but Davies said many were using services such as Bandcamp where the artist sells the music directly, or make more money from merchandise such as T-shirts and limited edition vinyl.

"People didn't know or care before, but now there are more conversations about where the money is going," Davies said.

"Fans are asking: 'Where do I buy to best support you?'"

She also believes artists did not like discussing earnings in the past as it "took the shine off" their public image, but added: "They should, it just means the maths have gone wrong.

"During the pandemic, over the last year with no touring only on streaming, it really focused minds on the unfairness of the system."

Davies backed a Private Members Bill presented to Parliament by Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan, who wants artists to share more equally in streaming profits.

Goldie Lookin' Chain have had a 20-year plus career after forming in Newport

"To those of us who grew up in an analogue world, carrying around 12-inch vinyl copies of the latest David Bowie albums under our arms, it is nothing short of miraculous that you can actually play music in this way," he said.

"But artists and songwriters have not had the same boom as the major record companies themselves from this new windfall."

He said it would not lead to "anarchy in the UK" music industry but equity if there was change.

"I'd probably break down crying if I looked how much we get from streaming," is the view of John Rutledge, also known as rapper Eggsy.

When his royalty cheque for Goldie Lookin' Chain music arrives every January, it is "in the hundreds" of pounds.

Eggsy believes streaming services give bands a platform that helps them tour

He added: "We had initial success, one track had 2.5 million hits and everywhere we went, people said 'wow, you're famous'.

"But fame isn't particularly important, it's about making music and making a living."

He admitted streaming services confuse him, adding: "It's a really good avenue, giving you the platform to tour and do gigs where you want.

"But I don't look at streaming royalties, it's pointless."

While Rutledge also works on comedy and podcasts, he said: "If it was possible, we would all just love to be in the studio constantly making music."

Dion Wyn Jones and Sion Land are blues rock duo Alffa

"I absolutely think that bands should make more money," said Sion Land, of Welsh-language band Alffa.

"If your single was released before the age of streamed music and was bought 1,000,000 times, then that artist would have made roughly £1,000,000.

"It's not even close to that these days."

He said artists are "stuck between a rock and a hard place", with Spotify a good way of promoting their music but believing they should have at least 80% of profits.

"For example, we have a total of about 6,000,000 streams on our Spotify," he explained.

"If me and Dion used the money from our Spotify as our main income and shared it between us, we would be out of money in about three weeks, maybe even less, including rent and everything that comes with living as an average 21-year-old."

He added: "There's no mortgage to worry about, no paying back student loans yet. So, imagine if someone with a house and family was to rely on streaming as a source of income."

'More winners'

A BPI spokesman said earnings of artists have risen over the past decade since streaming overtook CDs as the main format, with royalties about 40% higher on average.

"And there are more winners than ever from streaming. For an artist, 10 million streams generates the same royalties as 10,000 CDs, and more than 2,000 artists will achieve at least that in the UK alone this year - double the number who sold the equivalent number of CDs and downloads in 2007," he said.

"As ever, popularity remains the key determinant of how much an artist earns, and as they are paid per stream, the most effective way to help more artists earn more is for the music community to work together to increase the value of the streaming business, so that artists share a larger pie."

The spokesman added: "The Anchoress has a wonderful career ahead and, as many more people get to discover and enjoy her music, hopefully streaming her songs in the tens of millions and more, like many thousands of other artists who are thriving through streaming, she will increasingly see her creativity rewarded and her earnings grow accordingly."