Folk singer Billie Marten Warns opens up about streaming-era inequity and the widening gulf between megastars and working musicians

July 28, 2025: British singer-songwriter Billie Marten has delivered a stark indictment of today’s music industry, declaring that “mostly, artists are in financial ruin” and that “we’re all paying Taylor Swift.” Her candid comments—part pointed critique, part rallying call—reflect deep frustration over how streaming-era economics disproportionately reward a handful while leaving most creatives struggling.

Labor Without Livability

Ahead of her fifth album Dog Eared, Marten shared with The Independent that despite being at the peak of her career in terms of workload and visibility, financial stability remains elusive. “I’ve worked the hardest and the longest…and I am not doing great,” she said plainly. Marten lamented that even artists who’ve achieved chart success can feel disposable—and financially disposable.

The Taylor-Focused Pay Gap

Invoking the name of Taylor Swift wasn’t a personal attack, Marten clarified—it was a symbol of the system’s inequitable power dynamics. Swift’s massive economy of merchandise, re-recordings, streaming dominance, and ticket sales illustrates a business model that rewards megastars while starving mid-tier and emerging artists. As Marten put it: “Less money is going to mid‑level and low‑level artists…It’s a capitalist mentality, essentially, and we’re all paying Taylor Swift.

When Critique Meets Capital

Critics have long observed how Taylor Swift leveraged her platform to influence industry conditions—negotiating album rollouts, streaming policies, and distribution strategies in ways others can’t match. This has been dubbed “Swiftonomics,” where immense personal market power sets the rules—and indirectly sets the bar for who benefits .

Yet Marten stresses: her issue isn’t Swift the person, but the structure that empowers the few at the expense of many. “Everyone that’s hanging onto the artist is buying houses and going on holiday…And the artists could never dream of doing that,” she noted.

Resignation or Reform?

Marten is vocal but not embittered. “I’m speaking for all of us who have made peace with it, because we’re nice people who just want to make music.” Still, she began probing: “But should we make peace with it? And how do we change it?”

Her concerns mirror broader complaints in the industry—tour cut percentages, venue and merch fees, tiny royalties for streaming—that have repeatedly been spotlighted by unions and artist coalitions.

 Closing Notes: A Call to Rebalance

Billie Marten’s comments shine a light on an uncomfortable truth: while superstar success dominates headlines and revenue reports, the vast majority of working musicians remain precariously perched on unpaid royalties and slim margins. Her message reframes one superstar’s success not as individual coldness, but as a symptom of deep systemic imbalance. And it begs the urgent question: What will it take to build an industry that values all artists—equally?