Billy Corgan Predicts ‘Bloody Turf War’ in the Music Industry

Billy Corgan thinks change in the music industry – especially when it comes to artist payments from streaming services – will come once artists "wake up."

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman was interviewed on CNBC after Taylor Swift convinced Apple Music to reverse course and pay license holders during its three-month trial period. Corgan said artists' demands will only be taken seriously once they realize their plight and band together for better compensation.

"We're not being paid commensurate to our value to Apple, Spotify or to anybody," Corgan said. "Once the artists wake up, there's going to be a bloody turf war, and this is a very big sign of what I've been predicting."

Corgan went further in a previous interview with CNBC when he predicted the downfall of the entire industry. "You’re gonna see a complete disintegration of the business model. And a reforming. The problem is because artists are generally manipulated, it’s an old business model. You’re told ‘you have no value, you have no value.' They’re slow on the uptake on how much value they have in this market place."

Part of the problem, Corgan said yesterday, is that, between Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music, the conversation has focused on the small percentage of musicians who are also celebrities. He acknowledged that Swift's stance on Apple Music had made a positive difference, but says the conversation should include smaller artist, too.

"I applaud her for taking a stand, but this is going to be played out by the media as 'Taylor versus Apple,' and that's not the real story," Corgan said. "The real story is the 10,000 other artists that Apple doesn't pay attention to past their top 12."

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