Rapper 50 Cent has expressed disagreement with Taylor Swift, saying that streaming services like Spotify don’t undervalue the work of musicians. Blank Space singer Swift removed her music from streaming services last year, saying that companies like Spotify weren’t paying musicians properly. However, she was then forced to deny that her music was about to added to Google’s new streaming service YouTube Music Key.
Swift said “I just don’t agree with perpetuating the perception that music has no value and should be free”, but Candy Shop star 50 Cent said that streaming wasn’t undervaluing music, saying: “We’re evolving, at the same time when we look at the expenses connected, first music is affected – it’s a smaller production than a TV show or feature film.”
Spotify boss Daniel Ek recently defended his company, saying that it had paid out $2 billion in royalties that would have been lost to piracy if the service hadn’t existed. 50 Cent’s thoughts have been backed by legendary Michael Jackson producer Quincy Jones, who said “Spotify is not the enemy”. Foo Fighters and Nirvana star David Grohl recently said that he doesn’t care about the streaming debate. Grohl argued that live performance was much more important than the technology used to deliver recorded music.
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