Snoop Dogg goes off-script on streaming platform payouts in viral rant: 'Can someone explain to me how you can get a billion streams and not get a million dollars'

• Snoop Dogg questioned streaming compensation for artists during a music panel.
• He also tied his tangent to the current TV writer's strike.

In an off-script moment, Snoop Dogg called out music executives at a business conference by questioning the stingy digital-music streaming-payout system while extending support for striking TV workers.

The rapper, born Calvin Broadus, was speaking on a panel about music and artificial intelligence when he went off on a tangent. While being interviewed by Larry Jackson, Apple's former music creative director, he questioned why music-streaming services paid artists so little, adding that TV-show writers also deserved better.

"I know I'm going off-script right now, but fuck it. This is business," Snoop said at the 2023 Milken Institute Global Conference on May 3. "In a room full of business people and somebody may hear this so the next artist don't have to struggle and cry for his money because some of these artists are streaming millions and millions and millions and millions of fucking streams and they don't got no millions of dollars in the pot."

Snoop, who received some applause and cheers, then made a more direct call to the audience.

"I don't know who the fuck is running the streaming industry if you in here or not? But you need to give us some information on how to fucking track this money down," he said amid some audience laughs. "Because one plus one ain't adding up to two."

According to Billboard, artists make about $0.16 for every $1 made on a song through streaming. This number depends on the contracts negotiated by record labels between streaming platforms, and larger artists can negotiate a higher cut.

However, making money from streaming is difficult, especially for smaller artists who say they cannot financially support themselves on it. For example, Spotify pays between $.003 and $.005 per stream.

Snoop used this argument to show support for TV writers. Around 10,000 writers in the Writer's Guild of America began striking on Tuesday to demand better wages as royalty payments have nearly disappeared thanks to streaming.

"I mean, can someone explain to me how you can get a billion streams and not get a million dollars?" Snoop said.

Snoop told the audience that box-office sales were a clearer metric to get paid by rather than ambiguous streaming standards. "It's not working for the artist right now and I just want to speak to that. That's fucked up," he said. "The writers are striking because with streaming, they can't get paid."

Representatives for Snoop Dogg and the Milken Institute did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider. Insider reached out to Spotify and Apple Music for comment.