There’s not much I can find to like about Daniel Ek. The more he speaks, the less I think of him.
In an interview published on Music Ally this week, Ek pontificates on what musicians need to do in his new world order if they want to get by:
Some artists that used to do well in the past may not do well in this future landscape, where you can’t record music once every three to four years and think that’s going to be enough. The artists today that are making it realize that it’s about creating a continuous engagement with their fans. It is about putting the work in, about the storytelling around the album, and about keeping a continuous dialogue with your fans.
In other words, artists today that who want to make it need to churn out content. Of course if more musicians were more active on Spotify, churning out more content on a regular basis, Spotify would most certainly make more money. Brilliant! One wonders if Ek has ever given even a passing thought to the creative process beyond creating ways to make money off of other people’s work. I suppose seeing as Ek’s net worth is propped up by the market value of Spotify’s stock, you really can’t blame him for thinking he’s part of a commodities market.
Forbes estimates Ek’s net worth at $4B (as of 8/6/20) which is not bad for a guy that would be nothing without the musicians he exploits.
