Spotify is Over - White Shirt

SPOTIFY IS OVER... IF YOU WANT IT

We had to do it. Printed on high-quality heavy-weight Gildan Hammer shirts. Soft, comfy and thick! 

Material: 100% Cotton
Shirt Brand: Gildan Hammer
Shirt color: White
Print color: Black
Inspired By: John & Yoko
Printed By: Ink Tank, Omaha NE

+ 6.0 oz/yd, U.S. ring spun cotton
+ Taped neck and shoulders for comfort and durability
+ Tear away label
+ Proudly using US Cotton that is sustainably grown and ethically harvested
+ Made with respect for the climate, energy and water

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We love music and the people who make it. Supporting nice people making meaningful music has been our full-time job for 30+ years. We sincerely believe music can change the world, help us get through the darkest times, and bring joy to those who listen.

You may have seen in the news recently, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek has invested 600m Euros — nearly $700m USD — in Helsing, an AI military start-up of which he is now Chairman. Let’s be clear: Spotify, their CEO, and shareholders have profited millions on the backs of unpaid and underpaid artists. At approximately $0.003-0.005 per stream, Spotify pays one of the worst streaming rates in the business. In addition, they are allowing and platforming fully AI-generated music and bands like The Velvet Sundown. Over the years, they’ve pitted musicians against one another to compete for playlisting spots; but we’re now up against robots who do not need to pay rent or buy groceries, who will not fight for fair pay or workers’ rights. And now Spotify is using money from our work to create death and destruction in the world. We can't be part of this system.

We all know streaming is here to stay. But there are better options that pay artists much higher rates. 

Bandcamp
(85% royalty on download purchases, drops to 10% after $5k in sales) 
This is the preferred outlet for most independent artists. They don’t offer a dedicated streaming service. But artists can set the number of times a song can be listened to for free before fans have to purchase the download. A very good balance between streaming and purchase in our opinion. You can download any quality between 320k MP3 up to the highest resolution the artist or label uploads in multiple formats (FLAC, AIFF, WAV).

Qobuz
(average of $0.018732 per stream)
We love Qobuz for their high-quality streaming and ability to purchase high-resolution downloads. An audiophile’s dream! Their streaming rates are 6x better than Spotify. We’ve chatted with folks here, and they seem to be in for all the right reasons. They love music and want us to hear the best possible quality while paying artists the highest rate of any streaming service.

Apple Music 
(average of $0.01 per stream) 
Yeah, we know this is one of the biggest capitalist corporations in the world. Plenty of things to dislike about Apple. But our experience with them on the artist side has been mostly positive. Their streaming rates are 3x better than Spotify. And the integration with iPhones and Macs is seamless. We use Apple Music in our office when we’re not listening to vinyl or KEXP (viva la John, Cheryl, and Larry!).

Thanks to our long-time friend, Laura Burehn, for helping us with these words and being a good and positive force in the world.

The income from sales of these shirts is used to continue our mission of helping artists create sustainable careers and continue to make music and art for all of us.

Thanks for your support.