After discovering the true cost per stream for music on Spotify (£0.002), as well as the fact that royalties are paid out in full after 30 seconds, musician Mark Christopher Lee journeys to record an album of only 30 second songs. With a satirical ethos and lyrics that harangue the inequity of the modern musical model, Lee and his band The Pocket Gods create the ultimate diatribe against Spotify, on Spotify.
INSPIRED: The 30 Second Song Movie chronicles the musical journey of Mark Christopher Lee and the Pocket Gods in their quest for more equitable royalties. The project was born from frustrations surrounding Spotify's percieved unfairness, that the rate per stream used to be £0.007 before they bought Joe Rogan's podcast, and now it has nearly quartered to £0.002. Upon the knowledge that Spotify only pays out after 30 seconds, The Pocket Gods satirically released an album of a hundred songs, all barely longer than 30 seconds in length. Accompanied with their lyrics, ranging from political to comedic, tragic and satirical, the project is a pure protest against the modern financial model for musicians. See the trailer below:
Upon meeting with the higher-ups at Spotify, they were told that "music streaming is just one slice of the Pizza and artists
should look to make money elsewhere". A proper David and Goliath tale, INSPIRED is a tale of from the perspective of the little guy, struggling for recognition and equality.
The film details how the band will use the sale proceeds to fund an ethical alternative to Spotify which will pledge to pay artists at least 1p per stream - 50 times Spotify’s current rate. See our article about alternatives to Spotify here.
The documentary is available to stream on Amazon Prime here.