The Chinese Finger Trap is beautiful because it is defies logic on the surface. By pulling harder, one constricts the bind that they’re in. The same thing is happening with Spotify, only without the fun of finding out how it works.
David Byrne, former lead singer of the Talking Heads, has pulled “as much of his catalogue” as he can from Spotify. Why? Because it’s the thing to do these days. Abused math and sins of omission have led to headlines declaring Spotify to be the worst ripoff since the major labels, paying only pennies for millions of plays. Many artists have done it. Some are insulted by the low payoffs. Others believe it will cannibalize their sales.