Streaming is democratising music, but the pay debate isn’t over yet

Streaming platforms have rewritten the rules of music industry and music's discovery. A song can now travel across continents in seconds, and connect an artist to a listener they may never meet. 

"I like the idea that my song is on a playlist, on a platform, finding someone at the exact moment they need it," singer-songwriter Natania Lalwani says. "With streaming platforms, my music can land in someone’s headphones across the world instantly, and I think that’s wonderful."

That intimacy, music becoming a companion on late-night walks or long drives, is something streaming has delivered at scale. But while access and visibility have exploded, a harder question continues to loom over the industry: has the money kept up?

"I don’t think artists are fully compensated under the current streaming model," Natania says. "Streams help us reach people all over the world, which is amazing, but the model needs to be updated to value the consumption of music more. Back in the day, having a million sales to live off of was a lot different from today, where you’re getting a million streams. And especially, as a songwriter, it’s even more unfair."

Singer Mary Ann Alexander says streaming is "great for exposure and growth, less great as a reliable income stream," especially for artists outside the top tier. "It’s good for reach and exposure, but not enough on its own to sustain a career," she adds, noting that streaming is best treated as one part of a larger strategy.

However, legal implications remain complex in the music industry. Priyanka Khimani, founder of Khimani & Associates, urges a more India-specific reading of the debate. "A lot of the current backlash and hue and cry over the streaming model is really what we’re seeing in markets outside of India," she says. "You have to bear in mind the Indian market is still not as sophisticated or evolved as far as the artist or creator side is concerned for them to even recognise whether or not they’re being affected."

Khimani argues that streaming has, in many ways, shifted leverage towards creators, provided they understand and exercise their rights. "Artists fail to recognise that they do have a choice when it comes to ownership of copyright in the music that they are creating," she says. 

She points to artists who have prioritised ownership as proof that the economics can work. "Look at Divine, look at someone like AP Dhillon… who understands the importance of owning their copyright and will use that leverage while negotiating contracts." 

Where things continue to fall apart, she says, is at the contracting stage. "What nobody has in this business is good counsel," Khimani says. "People think they own copyright when they’ve paid for something, only to find out there’s no paperwork in place—everything is a handshake. And it all comes collapsing at some point in the future."

According to her, the biggest red flags are often overlooked, which include the grant of rights, and termination provisions. "Are you giving up complete ownership or licensing it for a limited purpose?" is what creators are most unaware of, she said.

When disputes arise over streaming income, they are rarely abstract. "Reporting and lack of reporting are the most common issues I see," Khimani says. "Why do I even have to ask for a statement? Contractually, you are agreeing to provide it to me." Artists, she adds, are frequently handed inadequate or unclear data, making it difficult to assess whether revenues have been correctly accounted for.

Despite these gaps, Khimani believes the broader economics are currently tilted in favour of creators in India. “If you work with a distribution platform, you either pay a small annual fee and the rest of the revenue is yours, or even with an advance, the distribution ratio is heavily skewed in favour of the creator,” she says. “I genuinely feel it’s a golden era as far as a creator is concerned.”

Artists, however, remain cautious. "There needs to be a better system to support full-time artist careers," Natania says, adding that for her, sync and licensing for films and television, along with songwriting for other artists, have become essential revenue streams alongside streaming.

Another area raising fresh concern is AI-generated music. "There is too much ingestion of AI-generated works," Khimani warns. "Some of these works have already started making it to charts." While legal protections exist, she believes awareness among creators remains limited as many focus on short-term visibility rather than long-term rights protection.

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