This petition originated in Germany and has been translated from German to English:

Less than 6 weeks before the New Year, Spotify confirms the rumours about the adjustment of its billing model: from 2024, only songs that collect at least 1,000 streams per year will be remunerated. In addition, according to Spotify, a song will only be categorised as "eligible" when it reaches a total of 1,000 streams for the first time ever - all months before that will be excluded from the count. And what makes the announced move even more incredible is that the minimum limit of streams is linked to a minimum number of listeners - which is being kept secret due to fears of abuse. This makes it even more difficult for artists with a small dedicated fanbase to reach this threshold. The proceeds from all songs that do not reach these thresholds (around $40 million per year) are then distributed to the artists who are entitled to remuneration according to the streaming service's criteria.

While we have been criticising Spotify's business model for years, and justifiably so in our view, a level has now been reached that is no longer acceptable and against which the undersigned associations and musicians are actively positioning themselves in the interests of artists and cultural diversity.

If the public and political discourse raised hopes of one day replacing the "pro rata" remuneration model in favour of a fairer and yet-to-be-defined user-centric model, this news is a bitter step backwards. If musicians really wanted to be better off, there would be plenty of opportunities that would not be at the expense of smaller acts. With the announced changes, Spotify is ensuring that the gap between particularly successful musicians and smaller musicians continues to widen and that large acts and labels in particular benefit from the changes at the expense of smaller ones: survival of the fittest, turbo capitalism at its best.

Arguments put forward that the annual billing of songs under 1000 streams is not worthwhile are, on the one hand, home-made due to the poor remuneration offer introduced by the company itself and, on the other hand, implausible in times of successful FinTech companies in the field of micro-transactions (see Paypal, Patreon, etc.).

We welcome the announcement that sounds such as white noise will only be remunerated after two minutes of playtime in future. We also welcome the announcement that more action will be taken against fraudulent streams - but the fact that Spotify, as a cutting-edge tech company with advanced algorithms, cannot sort out any fraudulent accounts other than no longer remunerating songs with less than 1000 streams per year is simply a farce. It is also important to point out that the streaming service is largely in control of which artists are successful and visible on its platform thanks to its algorithms and curated playlists. With the "Discovery Mode", Spotify will also be remunerated for this in future.

We are very concerned that Spotify's plans have not yet caused a major outcry. This may be due to the complexity of the issue, the fact that it is mixed in with other, entirely positive announcements and the supposed "trivial limit" of 1000 streams. Spotify is aware of its market significance and that musicians are afraid of not being recognised in the industry if they don't release their music there. This market power allows the streaming service to push through changes even in the face of resistance. Spotify is currently not only the streaming provider with the largest market share, but also one of those that pays the least per stream.

We expressly criticise the arbitrariness of the border and the short notice with which such far-reaching changes are being made and would like to call on music professionals and associations to sign and support our appeal.

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We therefore call on Spotify to:

1. to stop the changes planned for the beginning of 2024

2. to hold further talks with musicians and independent representatives of the industry

3. to make data on the calculation of stream shares transparent in order to make it possible to understand the possible consequences of a change in the billing models.

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The statement is co-signed by:

• Bundesverband Popularmusik (BV Pop)
• Deutsche Jazzunion
• Deutscher Komponistenverband
• Fair Share Initiative
• Freie Ensembles und Orchester in Deutschland (FREO)
• Interessenverband Musikmanager & Consultants (IMUC)
• LiveKomm
• mediamusic - Berufsverband Medienmusik
• Music Women* Germany
• Unisono - Deutsche Musik- und Orchestervereinigung
• Composers Club e.V.
• ImPuls Brandenburg e.V. 
• DTKV Bundesverband
• Gregor Meyle
• Mine
• Antje Schomaker
• Christopher Annen
• Max Mutzke
• Klee
• Finna
• Mrs. Greenbird
• Riccardo Doppio
• Christina Lux
• Purple Schulz
• Malte Huck / Beachpeople
• Von wegen Lisbeth
• Locas in Love
• Francesco Wilking
• Moritz Krämer
• Die Höchste Eisenbahn
• Karo Schrader
• Lugatti & 9ine
• Mina Richman
• Ferdinand Schwarz
• Maike Rosa Vogel
• Tokunbo
• Sophie Chassée
• Stoppok
• Desiree Klaeukens
• Rocko Schamoni
• Gregor McEwan
• Yasmina Hunzinger
• Marian Kuprat
• Jördis Tielsch
• SYMØN
• Samuel Breuer
• Felix Meyer
• Nadine Fingerhut
• Lukas Meister
• Thorsten Wingenfelder /
• Fury in the slaughterhouse
• Dania König
• Martin Praetorius
• Anne de Wolff
• Hasenscheiße
• Tommy Finke
• Liv Solveig
• The Twiolins
• Stephanie Lottermoser
• Bastian Korn