Tracy Chapman Gets Paid + UMG/TikTok Feud
Seeing Tracy Chapman perform her timeless 1988 hit "Fast Car" at the Grammys with country music star Luke Combs on Sunday got us thinking about "one-hit wonders."
Sure, Chapman isn't a one-hit wonder in the strict sense. She's had an incredibly successful career—in fact, her 1997 single "Give Me One Reason" actually charted higher than "Fast Car." But "Fast Car" is the song everyone associates with her name. It's one of those enduring singles you'll be hearing for years to come, resonating with generation after generation (Combs was born two years after its release).
However, "one-hit wonders" often get unfairly dismissed. And perhaps that’s because individual songs often don't get enough credit. A single song, if powerful enough, can honestly be a career in itself. And in the streaming era, that song increasingly lives on through plays, playlists…and continued payouts. In the long run, the hit single can become as valuable as the Album, capital A—especially since we no longer need to buy the album to get that single in the first place.
While Tracy Chapman's albums have gone platinum 11 times, it's her iconic single that keeps her a household name, generates income, and even gets a boost from Combs' cover through radio play royalties. As you, our loyal listener, know, radio play royalties go to the producer and songwriter—not the recording artist (We know, it’s weird, they’ve been trying to fix it since…the invention of radio, really). And it can pay out! According to Billboard, Chapman reportedly earned an estimated half-million dollars in the first few months after Combs' release.
But the case of "Fast Car" is even more interesting. Chapman has a strict no-sample policy for all her songs, essentially turning down another revenue stream. Arguably, it's a smart move - while samples typically involve fees, covers mean Chapman gets paid for every stream and radio play. And maybe, it was actually the long-game? Play it out—if we had a medium-scale pop-rap single sampling Chapman in 2008, would this full-blown cover actually work in 2024? Maybe…but probably not.
And despite some controversy surrounding a white male country singer covering the song of a black, female queer artist, Chapman has publicly praised Combs' cover. And arguably, seeing Chapman perform again with a clearly enamored Combs, was refreshing, and perhaps even offered positive optics for a divided country.
BONUS PODCAST TIME: Universal Music vs. TikTok
Did you hear? Negotiations between Universal Music, the biggest music label, and TikTok, the viral social media platform, fell apart. As a result, Universal's music is being pulled off the app.
This kind of high-profile spat hasn't happened in years, and the implications are fascinating. Why did it come to this? Why are two industry giants fighting an unwanted battle?
UMG claims only 1% of its earnings come from TikTok. Assuming this holds true for all licensing deals, it suggests TikTok pays around $400 million to the big three labels and Merlin, compared to its $18 billion advertising revenue last year.
While money is always a factor, there's more at stake here. This is a fight about the future of sound and who controls it.
To understand this better, we delve into the conflict's payout structures, the strategies leading up to it, and the failed negotiations. We also discuss AI, a seemingly omnipresent topic that, for some reason, no one is talking about regarding this feud. Will TikTok try to survive without UMG's catalog, unleashing deepfake AI Drake while shredding cease-and-desist letters?
For the nerd herd, Sam envisions the fascinating data-science research project this conflict could spawn. If it drags on, what can it tell us about TikTok's true impact on artist virality?
LISTEN on iTunes, Spotify or Podbean.
- Sam & Saxon