Support the Living Wage for Musicians Act to Ensure Fair Streaming Payments

I am writing to urge you to support and pass the Living Wage for Musicians Act, legislation that would require music streaming services to pay artists fairly for their creative work. Under current practices, platforms like Spotify pay artists only a fraction of a penny per stream. To earn a single dollar on Spotify, a song must be streamed nearly 300 times. This compensation structure is unsustainable for working musicians, even as streaming companies generate enormous wealth for their executives and major record labels. Spotify itself claims one of its core goals is to give "a million creative artists the opportunity to live off their art," yet its payment model makes this virtually impossible for most musicians. The Living Wage for Musicians Act would establish a minimum payment of one penny per stream, paid directly to artists. This direct payment structure is crucial because it bypasses major labels and other intermediaries who would otherwise take a cut. The legislation also ensures that only human creators receive these payments, preventing Big Tech AI companies from further dominating the streaming market at the expense of actual artists. Musicians create the content that makes streaming platforms profitable, yet they receive minimal compensation while these companies rake in millions. This is not just an economic issue but a matter of basic fairness. Artists deserve to earn a living wage from their work, and streaming services have the resources to provide it. Beyond fair compensation, there are concerns about how streaming companies allocate their profits. Spotify's executive chairman Daniel Ek has invested millions of his earnings into military technologies, and platforms like YouTube continue running ICE ads. These companies should be directing their substantial revenues toward paying the artists who make their business model possible. I urge you to support the Living Wage for Musicians Act and ensure that streaming services compensate artists fairly for their creative contributions.