Burton C. Bell (Ex-Fear Factory, Etc.) Slams “Evil” Spotify

Ex-Fear Factory vocalist Burton C. Bell recently railed against digital service provider Spotify in a since-deleted post on his social media made yesterday, December 05th. This week’s reveal of the annual Spotify ‘Wrapped’ event led him to make the post, voicing his resentment for the service.

Spotify’s ‘Wrapped’ initiative provides users and musicians, etc. with statistics for their most streamed songs, etc. on an annual basis. The fervor that results also covertly serves as marketing for the Spotify service itself.  Bell vented of the service:

“So I checked out this ‘wrapped’ BS from Spotify. It is a bittersweet realization as an independent artist to see that my music is truly spanning the globe, and that fans are truly supportive (that is the sweet part).

THANK YOU TO ALL THE FANS AROUND THE GLOBE FOR YOUR SUPPORT! I AM GRATEFUL FOR YOU!

The bitterness that wells within my heart is seeing that Spotify WILL compensate me with $4.29…. that is $0.003 for every stream… a fraction of ONE PENNY… #fuckspotify…

Daniel Ek [Spotify’s CEO] is reaping in billions off of the backs of all the artists that have built this company, and will not compensate the artist for the invaluable work that supports his business and life.

Spotify is an ‘evil’, regarded as an ‘important gauge’ for artists in the music industry. How can artists survive in this burgeoning economy with compensation like this?

What’s even worse is that the only way to really break ground on Spotify is to pay for services to break into a larger audience. ‘Pay to Play’ is still rampant, and it has infiltrated the internet.”

Six Feet Under vocalist Chris Barnes took to social media today, December 07th, the share his support for Bell‘s opinion, offering:

” I Agree with Burt. I wish the “Metal Community” would understand they are enabling this, and actually be a Community and DELETE that app and boycott all streaming.”

Bell himself launched his eponymous solo venture earlier in the year. Despite his decades long stint in gold-certified Fear Factory, Bell himself has also has also endured financial hardship, some of which impacted his decision to exit that band back in 2020.

The streaming service model era of the industry remains as contentious as ever with artists, with another metal veteran in Charlie Benante (Anthrax/Pantera) having lambasted Spotify last month.

[via Blabbermouth.net]