How Spotify pays artists. Royalties, rates and payouts.

Did they really speak of converting millions of pirates into paying customers? Is Spotify (or anyone of these other players in that game) really the holy grail against piracy?

I do not know. And I am really, genuine interested in an answer.

Anecdote: I was pirating, when I was younger. Music, TV Shows, movies. But - and that is a big but - I was spending much more in CDs or DVDs compared to today. And I do have more disposable income today.

I really do not discover new things anymore (as I do not use things like Spotify, as I do not want my listening-habits tracked and marketed).

So it is through posted videos of friends, that I do discover interesting artists/movies. But that does not happen often.

So yeah, I am a reformed pirate, spending way less money on these things then before.