KAMELOT drummer Alex Landenburg and MENTALIST guitarist Peter Moog have officially launched a new streaming service called ROKK.
ROKK is billing itself as “the ultimate streaming platform for all things hard and heavy, with superior sound quality and finally fair compensation for artists at its core.”
The two musicians say “ROKK is the first service to offer direct artist support for your favorite band or musician right in the app. Fair music streaming, by artists for artists, and real music fans!”
A special launch offer, a free trial month to experience the platform, is now available, with exclusive introductory pricing: €8.99 per month for the first three months after your trial month, after which standard pricing of €10.99 per month applies. There are “no strings attached” and you can “cancel anytime”, Landenburg and Moog say.
The offer and the reduced price is only available if you register and subscribe through the ROKKweb site. The offer is valid until March 31.
Landenburg states: “After nearly four years of hard work, Peter Moog, myself, and our dedicated team behind the scenes — is beyond proud to finally officially launch ROKK!
“As a professional drummer and lifelong metal fan, I have now spent over two decades touring, recording, and experiencing firsthand the struggles musicians face — especially when it comes to streaming revenue in this modern landscape. My co-founder, Peter, shares the same passion for music, and together, we decided to do something about this.
“ROKK is not just another streaming service — it’s about a community committed to giving rock and metal the recognition it deserves, where artists can receive fair compensation for each and every stream.
“One of the main reasons we built ROKK is to address a long-standing issue in the industry: the fact that most musicians have made very little to no money from their music being streamed. With our Direct Artist Support, you can help change that. An artist over the course of a year could see earnings equivalent to selling multiple records, and that’s already covered in your regular subscription fee.
“To be transparent, just because we’re incredibly proud of ROKK does not mean it is perfect right out of the gate.
“We built this with a fraction of the capital other platforms started with, as well as a small but incredible team. We’re already hosting over 60 million songs, and we add more every single day. In fact, we import well over 10,000 tracks each week. Still, there will be some gaps, and you might run into the occasional technical glitch. If you do, please let us know directly. We’re on it!
“Just a heads-up: if you click on a track and it takes longer to load, you’re likely to be the first listener triggering its playback (transcoding). While the initial wait might feel lengthy, it happens only once — after that, the track AND entire album load instantly. Plus, we pre-transcode as much music as we can to ensure this delay remains a rare occurrence.
“Also, please note that initially some artwork might be missing, or that some information might be inaccurate. Like I said, we’re just getting started, and we hope our community will step in to help us improve these details over time.
“This is the chance to use your knowledge to help shape the definitive rock and metal database. What do I mean by that? Our in-app music encyclopedia, or as we like to call it, Rokkpedia.
“With a free trial month and a reduced introductory subscription offer, we hope to make up for any initial shortcomings. Our goal is to eventually create something as great as the community it represents, and we look forward to improving every element, to build the platform we all dream of having. Every play, every share, every bit of feedback helps us make ROKK better, all while paying more to the artists you are listening to.
“Thank you for your support, and your patience (I’m looking at you Indiegogo community),and for being part of the music revolution.
“Time to ROKK!”
ROKK is available now on iOS, Android, and on the web at rokk-app.com throughout Europe, with plans to expand to other territories soon.
Many people still think Spotify doesn’t pay the artists who are featured on its platform fairly.
In recent years, Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek has been trying to defend the company’s payouts, telling CBS News in early 2023: “We don’t pay artists directly. [Artists] have their deals with their record companies and their deals with their publishers, et cetera. And what Spotify does is we pay out to those record companies and these publishers, and don’t know what individual deals these artists may have.”
Almost four years ago, Spotify created a web site called Loud&Clear to clarify exactly who receives payments.
According to Forbes, “Spotify has been paying back nearly 70% of every dollar generated from music as royalties to rights holders who represent artists and songwriters. These organizations, which include independent distributors, publishers, performance rights organizations, record labels, and collecting societies, then pay the artists and songwriters based on their agreed terms.”
Spotify boasts 675 million monthly active users as of December 2024. The number of people paying for Spotify Premium currently stands at 263 million.
Source: blabbermouth.net
