In a powerful stand against corporate greed and algorithmic injustice, local doom metal trio Temple of Sighs has gone public with their outrage over Spotify’s alleged “exploitative payout model,” despite racking up a grand total of only six streams since their debut EP dropped last June.
“I looked at our stats and saw we made $0.00017,” fumed bassist/vocalist Wayne Alborn. “That’s not even enough to buy one string for my bass, which I haven’t changed since 2011. We put a lot of work in to get those six streams, so we should at least be able to pay a few bills. This is criminal.”
The band, known for songs such as “Swamp Coffin (Of Regret)” and “Moss Lung,” claims their thunderous riffs and hour-long dirges deserve better compensation. “We poured two whole evenings of work into this album,” said drummer Lurch McCraskey. “We even recorded it in my mom’s laundry room. That’s real art, man.”
Things didn’t improve during Bandcamp Friday, the monthly day when Bandcamp waives its cut so artists can keep 100% of their revenue. “We made $3,” said guitarist Steve Murphy. “One of those dollars was from my grandma, and the other two were refunded after the buyer realized we were not actually Sleep.”
In a scathing tweet thread to their 17 followers, the band demanded Spotify “pay artists fairly,” linking to an online petition titled “Doom Isn’t Free, Daniel Ek.” The petition currently has 11 signatures, most of which appear to be from other members of the band under different usernames.
Despite the band’s anger, Spotify has not issued a response, possibly because no one at Spotify is aware of Temple of Sighs’ existence.
Nevertheless, the band vows to continue their righteous fight. “We’re thinking of starting a Patreon,” said Gravel. “If we can get one person to pledge a dollar a month, that’ll be a 2600% improvement over streaming.”
The band also hinted at alternative monetization ideas, including pressing their album onto actual slabs of slate to sell at craft fairs, launching a doom-themed hot sauce, and holding a fundraiser gig in the produce aisle of their local Kroger.
At press time, Temple of Sighs was seen adding a new track titled “Riff Subsidy Now” to their Bandcamp page, priced at $666 — or free with proof of following their newsletter.
