"Weird Al" Yankovic Slams Spotify Payouts in Wrapped Video: "Thanks for the Sandwich"
"It's my understanding that I had over 80 million streams on Spotify this year. So, if I'm doing the math right that means I earned $12."
However, if you were in the top one percent of "Weird Al" Yankovic's 2023 listeners, you were less capable of pulling the silly wool over your silly eyes — because, in the parodic icon's video message thanking fans, he didn't mince words about Spotify's notoriously abysmal artist payment structure.
As shared by his top listeners on social media, Yankovic's video for the campaign started out innocuously enough, with the legend himself wearing one of his signature Hawaiian shirts. "I just want to thank you all for your amazing support," Yankovic said earnestly in the clip.
"It's my understanding that I had over 80 million streams on Spotify this year," he continued. "So, if I'm doing the math right that means I earned $12. So, enough to get myself a nice sandwich at a restaurant."
Yankovic concluded, "From the bottom of my heart, thanks for your support," adding, "and thanks for the sandwich."
Last week, Spotify announced that it was ending service in Uruguay following the passing of a bill requiring fair pay for artists shortly after unveiling its new royalty policy demonetizing tracks with under 1,000 streams.