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Music streaming: ‘Musicians can’t eat or pay the rent’

Elbow frontman Guy Garvey talks to Will Hodgkinson about the realities of the industry
Guy Garvey of Elbow
Guy Garvey of Elbow
JIM DYSON/REDFERNS/GETTY IMAGES

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She has been nominated for a Mercury prize, made a series of acclaimed albums, and sold out the 1,700-capacity Roundhouse in London. Yet the Newcastle singer Nadine Shah told parliament yesterday that in a year of no gigs her revenue from streaming is not enough to “keep the wolf from the door”. And Shah, who was joined by the Elbow singer Guy Garvey, the Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien and Tom Gray of Gomez to give evidence before the culture select committee on the economic impact of streaming, is not alone. The classical violinist Tasmin Little reports that for more than five million Spotify streams from albums she recorded in the 1990s she earned £12.34.

“I’ve had a brilliant life as a musician and