Watch “Weird Al” Yankovic Criticize Spotify Payment in His Spotify Wrapped Thank You Video to Fans

Finding the perfect blend between comedy, parodies, and polka medleys, Weird Al Yankovic used his unique talent to sell over 12 million albums and perform at over 1,000 shows. He is also the proud owner of five Grammy Awards. In 2022, he also produced a satirical film about his life, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. While the musician has had a prosperous career in music and Hollywood, he recently celebrated Spotify Wrapped by showing fans and listeners just how much the platform paid him in 2023. 

Wanting nothing more than to praise his fans for continuing to listen to his music, Yankovic uploaded a video thanking them for their support. But like most of what Yankovic produces, nothing is what it seems. He said in the post, “Look, I’ll make this really quick. I just want to thank you all for your amazing support. It’s my understanding that I had over 80 million streams on Spotify this year.” 

Having one’s songs listened to over 80 million times might feel like an accomplishment to some, including Yankovic, but he added, “if I’m doing the math right, that means I earned $12. Enough to get myself a nice sandwich at a restaurant. So, from the bottom of my heart, thanks for your support, and thanks for the sandwich.”

Majority Of Songs Don’t Qualify

With a current net worth of over $20 million, the singer isn’t hurting, but what Yankovic wanted fans to know is how the new royalty model from Spotify affects artists. According to their new outline, royalties won’t kick in until a song hits 1,000 streams. When looking at the data, Spotify boasts over 100 million songs on their platform, yet only 37.5 million qualify for the new requirements. 

[RELATED: Behind the Name: “Weird Al” Yankovic]

Although Spotify set the new changes, causing nearly 60 percent of their catalog to not qualify, the platform promoted profits and subscriber gains. Spotify announced from June to September, they welcomed six million paid subscribers. 

Besides Yankovic, other artists like The Hives and Linkin Park also took to social media, but instead of criticizing Spotify, they thanked fans for listening and sharing their music with others. 

(Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Vox Media)