NBA stars receive some of the biggest bags in sports. But not every industry is equal. Rarely do young, up-and-coming artists pursue their careers in music for financial gain. In today’s era, new musicians earn their living through paid performances, selling their brand merchandise, royalties earned from licensing rights, and so on. Streaming companies don’t do much in regard to the fair compensation of artists.

Former Los Angeles Lakers star Shaquille O’Neal took to Instagram to reveal just how much each streaming platform differs in providing income to the artists.

Shaquille O’Neal highlights streaming payment schemes

Shaq shared a reel with his 31.3 Million followers via Instagram story. The reel featured a man drawing comparisons between different music streaming platforms. He complained about Spotify giving $1 per 315 streams, while Pandora, a subscription-based platform, only gave $1 per 752 streams. Tidal, a Norwegian-American service, was the most generous with $1 per 78 streams.

The artist then went on to describe the expenses he incurrences just to produce an album. From paying the graphic designer to create the album cover to paying back the loan that he took from a label, he showed his frustration towards doing all that only to be paid in pennies. He felt that even Tidal is not a platform that shows the appropriate amount of respect to a musical artist.

The reel was first uploaded on his platform by Cameron Azi and then reposted by @phoenix_blac_fire, which the four-time champ then featured on his story.

O’Neal’s love for music.

Shaquille O’Neal is someone who has always shown a deep love for music. Even while he was playing basketball, Big Diesel began to compose rap music. He received a platinum certification from the RIAA for his 1993 debut album, Shaq Diesel. He even signed a $10 Million contract to produce three albums. In fact, the big man was invited once by Michael Jackson himself to feature as a rapper in one of his songs.

In 2021, DJ Diesel, the Laker legend’s stage name, performed a rendition of ‘Nuthin’ But A G Thang‘ with professional rapper Snoop Dogg. Their performance helped to raise $2.7 Million for Shaq’s Charity Foundation.

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Shaq recently came into the news as it was revealed that he owns royalties and licensing rights to various deceased celebrities; music, including the legendary Elvis Presley. He also performed as a DJ at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival two weeks ago.

Shaq seldom makes any money from his DJing and rap career. However, he does it all for his passion for music. It’s nice to see that his passion also helps in putting forth the struggles of other musical artists in the limelight.

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