Great Big Sea Co-Founder Séan McCann pulls music from Spotify

Canadian Celtic folk-rocker and Great Big Sea co-founder Séan McCann is following in the footsteps of Neil Young and Joni Mitchell in pulling his music from the streaming giant Spotfiy.

McCann said in a statement, “Spotify’s decision to prioritize certain creators on the app underscores the company’s profit-at-any-cost priority.

“This proves it was never about the music, and it’s artists who are ultimately paying the price," the Great Big Sea co-founder said.

McCann’s solo catalogue has over 87,000 followers on Spotify, and had 52 songs uploaded for streaming.

“After five years, my solo catalogue has earned a sum total of $640.25 on Spotify,” McCann reveals — adding that other platforms, including Apple, are similar enough.

“I found myself asking: Spotify founder Daniel Ek has a personal net worth of more than $4.7 Billion, but he can only ‘afford’ to pay songwriters $0.003 per stream?

“I chose not to ‘give’ my new songs away on streaming platforms because they do not compensate creators fairly,” McCann says.

He went on to add, “This is not all about the money; music is far more important than cash. But I believe it is unconscionable to profit so perversely off the labour of actual creators.”