Art & Culture

Music streaming services should pay artists properly, says Grammy-winner Estelle

Blanche Lim
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Estelle on Spotify and the music streaming business
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Estelle on Spotify and the music streaming business

When Spotify issued its IPO filing in February, the company made the case as to why it presents an opportunity for, not a threat to musicians.

With many anticipating what the next stage will be for music streaming services, Grammy award-winner Estelle said that streaming is "absolutely increasing the business." Still, she told CNBC's Nancy Hungerford in Singapore, such companies still have to "figure out how to pay artists properly."

The singer — who launched her own independent label called Established 1980 Records — said that it will be a "fight" for record labels and music streaming services, but right now the two will have to "co-exist."

"Streaming services are not going anywhere and artists are going directly to the services so the labels would have to do businesses with services because they want to stay around," she said. "The labels and streaming services can fight, but the artists will keep on making music, and they want in on the music, so they would have to figure it out."

Estelle visited Singapore to co-headline the first evening of the Singapore International Jazz Festival, also known as Sing Jazz.

The key to attracting younger people into jazz, she told CNBC, is to "embrace and guide them in the right direction, to make the genre alive."

When asked about her favorite partnerships so far in her career, Estelle named De La Soul (on the song "Memory of Us") and Kanye West (on the Grammy award-winning song, "American Boy").