I don't know that their listens are worth more or less, but I think that it's arguably more representative of an individual consumer's choices (I hate that I just used that phrase...).
I might hate an artist you listen to, and don't think that any of the money I put down should go towards that artist. Similarly, you might hate an artist I listen to, and don't want any of your money going towards them.
In regards to worth, I think a better measurement would be percentage of a user's listens, as opposed to number of listens. While the percentage is based on the number of times they listened to an artist, looking at the percentage only somewhat weakens the argument based on someone listening less being worth more. That argument doesn't really hold with me because you can get the same payment numbers by just multiplying all artists by the same number, and while each individual play is worth less, the artists are still getting the same payout.
Basically I think an individual distribution is superior because .. wait for it .. it's more representative of each individual's listening habits over the collective's habits. Because of this, there's a large potential for smaller, less recognized bands to make more money, because they're paid for the percentage of times the people who listened to them listened to them, as opposed to the percentage of times EVERYONE listened to them.
I might hate an artist you listen to, and don't think that any of the money I put down should go towards that artist. Similarly, you might hate an artist I listen to, and don't want any of your money going towards them.
In regards to worth, I think a better measurement would be percentage of a user's listens, as opposed to number of listens. While the percentage is based on the number of times they listened to an artist, looking at the percentage only somewhat weakens the argument based on someone listening less being worth more. That argument doesn't really hold with me because you can get the same payment numbers by just multiplying all artists by the same number, and while each individual play is worth less, the artists are still getting the same payout.
Basically I think an individual distribution is superior because .. wait for it .. it's more representative of each individual's listening habits over the collective's habits. Because of this, there's a large potential for smaller, less recognized bands to make more money, because they're paid for the percentage of times the people who listened to them listened to them, as opposed to the percentage of times EVERYONE listened to them.