Leerecs
What Artists Think About Streaming
Unfiltered perspectives from independent artists across genres and continents on the economics and culture of streaming.
The Streaming Question
Streaming has been the dominant music delivery mechanism since approximately 2015. For major label artists with millions of listeners, it generates substantial revenue. For the independent artist with 1,000 fans, streaming generates almost nothing — while simultaneously training those fans not to pay for music.
We asked the artists in the Leerecs interview archive what they really think about streaming.
"Everyday life gives me inspiration."
Arunava Roy's music draws from everyday experience — a philosophy that streaming's scale-above-all model directly contradicts. His music is meant to be heard closely, not discovered incidentally.
"Every song that I write, I write to try to help people."
Anslee McCrae funded her records one piano lesson at a time. Streaming's micropayment model does not reflect the labor and intention behind her music.
"Vertigo is a literal reference to the sensation of truly finding yourself."
For singer-songwriters like Joe Paolo whose work is deeply personal, the anonymity of a streaming play misses the point of the music entirely.
The Economics in Plain Terms
At the most generous streaming rate ($0.005 per stream), an artist needs:
- 200 streams to earn $1.00
- 20,000 streams to earn $100
- 200,000 streams to earn $1,000
By contrast, on a direct-sale platform like Leerecs, a fan purchasing a $10 digital album generates $10 (minus the disclosed platform fee). The same fan listening 200 times on a streaming platform generates $1.
Why These Artists Chose Direct Sales
The artists on Leerecs are not anti-streaming in principle — many distribute on streaming platforms simultaneously. But they recognize that streaming alone cannot sustain an independent music career at scale, and they want their most dedicated fans to have a direct way to support their work financially.
Leerecs is that direct channel: direct-to-fan, fair-trade, with real ownership for the buyer.