In February 2022, Grammy-winning R&B singer-songwriter India.Arie pulled her music from Spotify in protest, after the audio streaming platform paid podcaster Joe Rogan 200 million {dollars} regardless of his years of utilizing anti-Black language on his present. (Rogan would later apologize for his feedback.) Greater than that, nevertheless, Arie was unhappy with the way in which Spotify was treating artists at massive – and Black artists particularly – main her to maintain her music off the service for a 12 months.
Not too long ago, nevertheless, she introduced by way of Instagram that she has determined to place her music again on the platform. She shared a sequence of posts, together with a video explaining why she initially took her music down from Spotify, and what motivated her to place it again up. ”Individuals thought I used to be in a public battle with Joe Rogan,” she stated. “I used to be not. I used to be in a public battle with Spotify.”
Arie additionally hopes to clear up what she feels are misconceptions that the general public has developed about her within the 12 months since her Spotify protest. One is that India.Arie is her beginning identify, and never a stage identify. One other is that, regardless of on-line trolls suggesting that she is an “underneath the radar” artist or a “by no means was,” she has launched a number of RIAA-certified platinum albums (together with acclaimed 2001 breakout Acoustic Soul), and acquired trade accolades together with BET Awards, NAACP Awards and Grammys, with an affect that may nonetheless be felt in artists in the present day starting from H.E.R. to Ariana Grande.
“I used to be a giant participant and I used to be very profitable, which is why I might nonetheless have conversations like this,” she says. “‘Trigger it’s important to have a giant success for individuals to nonetheless be wanting to speak to you 23 years later.”
Under, Arie speaks to Billboard about her choice to place her music again on Spotify, her emotions concerning the Grammys and her legacy as an artist. This interview has been edited for size and readability.
Are you able to clarify why you determined to tug your music off of Spotify?
I pulled it off within the identify of my very own dignity.
It was in protest. I’ve been within the music trade for twenty-four years. I signed my report deal in 1999, and I do know an excessive amount of about how racism features within the music trade to be comfy with what I noticed. And so figuring out that Black music sells a lot of the music, and simply how vital Black individuals are within the [music industry], and within the creation of music, interval – everyone knows. Spotify stated it to me: Somebody known as me after I took my music down and stated, “You realize, Black music does essentially the most streams.” I’m like, “I do know that.”
And so figuring out that Black music does essentially the most streams [and how] streaming has deeply affected individuals’s potential to make a dwelling as songwriters, after which they simply throw it in our face that they’re given this man who makes use of racist language $200 million — for me, my dignity couldn’t stand it.
I didn’t suppose that anyone was gonna care, ‘trigger I’ve spoken out about issues previously. There once more is the idea of race displaying up, ‘trigger individuals didn’t care till there was this white man concerned — which, , welcome to the world, is not any shock.
How had been songwriters impacted by streaming that you simply noticed and had been involved about?
Effectively, it’s not simply what I see, it’s what we’ve got all skilled. So earlier than streaming, the way in which that royalties had been paid out needed to do with CD gross sales and likewise radio play. And so when CD gross sales go away… ‘trigger , who buys albums anymore in any respect? All of us purchase the whole lot digitally. It was a revolution.
And so when this revolution occurred, the report labels and the streaming platforms got here collectively. The report labels needed to companion with the streaming platforms or they had been gonna lose, too. So that they shaped this partnership, and so they determined how a lot individuals could be paid. I don’t know why they got here up with these numbers, nevertheless it was like, “That is what it’s value now. So neglect what you had been getting.” ‘Trigger I put out albums earlier than streaming and after, and so did lots of my mates who wrote songs on my albums, and I watched individuals’s checks dry up. This isn’t a principle – that is what we’ve got skilled.
Numerous us really feel like these numbers are random. The labels and the streaming platforms really feel prefer it’s value a fraction of a penny, 0.333% of a penny. Take it or depart it. What the common particular person thinks is that they pay $10 a month to Spotify or whoever for entry to all this music, and that portion of that goes to the artist that they’re shopping for – and that’s not what that’s. All the cash goes to the labels, then a smaller portion goes to Spotify, and an individual then is paid for regardless of the labels and the streaming platforms collectively deemed the worth of a stream. I don’t know the place the quantity got here from. I don’t know anyone who is aware of.
Had been there any artists reaching out to you with ethical help behind the scenes?
There was a bit of. I had extra individuals inform me, “No, I don’t wanna discuss this.” I’ll be like, “You wanna speak? No? OK…” One artist who shall stay anonymous advised me, “I feel it’s best to simply shut up.” And I used to be like, “Effectively, take pleasure in your entire success. I’m over right here combating for us who’ve common careers nonetheless.”
However some individuals did attain out, and so they simply needed to speak about it… not loads, however these two individuals who reached out, they had been like, “Effectively, , I’m nonetheless with the label.” I’m like, “I get it.” I bear in mind these days after they might simply maintain something over your head. Something you probably did – should you selected a distinct album cowl than what they needed, they’d say, “Effectively, perhaps we gained’t put it out.” Or should you didn’t do the remix, or use the artist they needed … they’d maintain something over your head. I do know these days very effectively. And so these two artists who needed to simply speak it by way of, I knew precisely what they had been speaking about, concerning the punishment that may come.
However there have been solely these two. And another individuals had been saying, ”Oh yeah, that’s cool. I see you. I see you in your activist s–t…” However there was no, “If you happen to want something, or it’s essential to speak…” There was little or no of that. Not one artist that I reached out to was like, “I’ll do it with you.”
I did discover out later by way of a really distinguished legal professional that a few of his purchasers had been speaking about it behind the scenes, and requested him to go to Spotify and communicate on their behalf and present their distaste – which I feel additionally had one thing to do with Spotify [coming to understand] the nuclear nature of the N-word, why some Black individuals have a zero-tolerance coverage round it. And so I do know that individuals spoke out behind [the scenes], as a result of I used to be advised. However there was not lots of [public] ethical help.
Why did you resolve to place your music again on Spotify?
One thing massive did change for me the place I began getting these royalties funds. I’ll be getting my first ones this 12 months. But in addition, [NMPA president/CEO] David Israelite gained the lawsuit the place [the royalty rate for songwriters will be increased from 10.5% to 15.1% over the course of stream payments from the years 2018 to 2022], which is big whenever you’re getting a fraction of a penny.
So when these two issues shifted, I put my music again up. Trigger I need my checks. And never solely do I need my checks, I deserve my checks. There’s nonetheless not gonna be sufficient. And there’s nonetheless a lot that must be modified within the music trade for it to be humane, actually. However I stood up for myself and I obtained some shift, and I need my checks, interval.
Do you personal your masters?
Not but. However I’m developing on the time after I would, simply because I’ve been within the trade so lengthy. That may be a pure reversion. However proudly owning my masters is one in every of my massive prayers.
Is your relationship with Spotify and your dialog with them about how they may also help Black artists an ongoing one?
No. They invited me into the dialog to start with, after which I’d attain out to them and nobody would attain again. And so within the very starting, they requested, “What do you suppose we are able to do?”
However then none of them would ever reply my calls once more. I didn’t strive it 1,000,000 instances, however I did name just a few instances by way of my lawyer, and so they by no means needed to speak to me once more. I reached out to them once more in the direction of the top of final 12 months and so they had been like, “Effectively, that’s behind us. We don’t wanna discuss it.” After they began making a number of the shifts that we noticed, like taking some 70 episodes of Joe Rogan’s podcast down – additionally, they agreed to pledge 100 million {dollars} in the direction of podcasters of colour. That was their language. I needed it to [specifically] be Black podcasters, ‘trigger there’s a distinction. And so I attempted to achieve out to them about that. They didn’t wanna discuss it. No person ever known as again.
After which I known as once more this summer season round August to ask if they’d be keen to present a public apology to their artists of colour. Simply easy to me – that may make you look good – however they stated “no.” They answered that. They stated, “No, that’s behind us.” So, no, it’s not an ongoing relationship. But it surely’s not due to me – as a result of I undoubtedly have issues I’d like to say and initiatives I’d like to be part of.
Pivoting a bit: There was the notorious Grammys evening of 2002 whenever you misplaced all seven awards you had been nominated for (5 to Alicia Keys, one to U2 and one to the O Brother The place Artwork Thou? soundtrack). There are nonetheless lots of conversations about racism with the Grammys, particularly with reference to an artist like Beyoncé not receiving the larger awards. Have your emotions modified about awards at massive and the Grammys particularly?
Sure. I imply, in fact. I went into that evening considering, “It is a evening the place the trade votes,” and all these things that they inform you – that that is about your friends, and so they listened to the music. I believed all that. After which I left understanding the politics of race within the trade. I used to be very clear on that after that evening. And so when Beyoncé didn’t win [in 2017] for Lemonade, I used to be watching it with some mates and I used to be like, “I advised y’all, it’s all drawn alongside strains of race – even whenever you’re Beyoncé.”
With this final Grammy [Awards], I didn’t even watch this one. And it wasn’t even in protest – it wasn’t even on my radar. That’s how I really feel about award exhibits at this level. It means nothing.
However the final time I went [at the 2020 awards], I went down the crimson carpet. I advised myself that initially, I used to be gonna look wonderful – which I did, and the images of that evening went viral a number of instances on Twitter and Instagram. After which I advised myself I used to be gonna inform the reality, the precise full reality to any query they requested me on the crimson carpet. And I did. And I had a video from that [night] that went viral from USA in the present day. And so I really feel like that was the evening that I set myself free from any expectations of [The Grammys] or the power for it to harm my emotions. And now this final one got here and went.
It’s been 22 years since your debut album Acoustic Soul got here out. May you mirror on how that album has modified your life, and your relationship to it now?
Effectively, in fact, Acoustic Soul modified my life utterly. I went from being a school scholar enjoying underneath a tree to opening for Sade on 50 tour dates. After which after the tour was over, the seven Grammy nominations got here by way of, and, , my life was by no means the identical. In good methods and difficult methods as effectively.
I’ve different conversations too concerning the enduring affect of the aesthetic of Acoustic Soul in several artists – not simply that album, however my aesthetic total. I hear it. And I feel that on the age after I launched Acoustic Soul, my greatest want was that I’d be an artist who made a generational affect. ‘Trigger to me, Stevie Marvel is the perfect for the whole lot music. And so, [multiple] generations of individuals listening to my music, individuals getting married to my music, individuals having it as their birthing playlist — that was all I needed, was to make music that was part of individuals’s lives. I didn’t take into consideration influencing anybody. To me that felt so far-fetched.
