Snoop Dogg Spotify

Snoop Dogg, who seems to have put his Spotify dispute in the rearview. Photo Credit: gcardinal

Just in time for today’s release of a surprise album entitled Iz It a Crime?, Snoop Dogg looks to have put his long-running Spotify dispute to rest.

The most immediate example of that resolution can be found in the widespread streaming availability of Iz It a Crime?. As many will recall, Snoop Dogg in late February released “Spaceship Party” solely via Tune.fm after levying royalties-related criticism at Spotify.

(Before that, 2024 had seen the Death Row owner finalize a separate streaming-exclusive tie-up with Web3 music platform Gala. A copyright suit against the latter, Snoop, and Death Row alike is technically ongoing, though both sides last month said they’d hammered out a settlement in principle.)

Spotify, Snoop publicly alleged, had only paid him a paltry $45,000 or so for somewhere in the ballpark of one billion streams. The service promptly pushed back, pointing to millions in total royalty payouts for the plays and, in the process, urging the 19 Crimes partner to direct his compensation qualms elsewhere.

Now, Spotify has capitalized on an opportunity to diffuse Snoop’s high-profile criticism, with the 16-time Grammy nominee taking advantage of a chance to promote the aforementioned Iz It a Crime? and the release particulars thereof.

Enter a decidedly positive article not from the music world, but Bloomberg, which proclaimed that Snoop Dogg “now understands the complexity of” royalties after meetings with Spotify execs.

The plural “meetings” is important. As the outlet tells the story, Gamma co-founder Larry Jackson (whose company put out Iz It a Crime? alongside Death Row) facilitated the talks, which occurred over a “few weeks.”

With Spotify in the habit of stressing the significant portion of revenue that it pays rightsholders, we won’t have too hard a time inferring which way the blame shifted here.

In any event, NBC-partnered Snoop Dogg “no longer blames Spotify itself,” but still isn’t a fan of the underlying streaming-compensation model, per the report. “‘They offered me understanding and clarity,’” Snoop elaborated in a concise statement. “‘We had a meeting of the minds.’”

If the well-established Snoop wants to drop the streaming model like it’s hot, it’s safe to say emerging acts are also eager to do so – or, at a minimum, to secure a less-lousy arrangement.

Of course, these professionals cannot very easily meet with Spotify brass to discuss their royalty-rate reservations. And they’re simultaneously fighting to stand out from an ocean of noise, being denied pay for some of their streams, and being shortchanged in different ways yet.