Following the launch of Spotify’s ‘Loud & Clear platform last week, rival firm Deezer has highlighted its commitment to its User-Centric Payment System (UCPS).

“Streaming today lacks both transparency and fairness, and benefits the people at the top of the food chain,” said Ksenia Kolchina, Head of Marketing – Europe, Africa and Asia and Deezer.

“A user centric model doesn’t magically solve all these problems. But it does connect artists to their fans. It does treat every artist equally. And it makes sure that you as a fan support the artists you love. Saying that something isn’t worth doing because it doesn’t matter enough to you is what defenders of the status quo have always done. And in the end, fairness and change always prevails.”

Deezer’s UCPS system aims to direct subscriber fees to the artists they listen to. The aim is to replace the outdated market share model where artists are paid in proportion to how much their streams represent out of the platform’s total streams. The move will see more niche artists and genres receiving a fairer cut from their fans’ subscription fees. 

Calling on the industry to help make streaming fairer for artists, Kolchina said: “We continue to pursue a user centric payment system, simply because it’s the right thing to do. And it’s fair for everyone involved. No ifs or buts. And we continue to call on labels to work with us to launch a UCPS pilot to prove the case.”

SoundCloud also recently laid out plans to start funnelling subscriber fees to the artists they actually listen to.

Last week, Spotify set out its Loud & Clear initiative to bring more transparency to artist payments. The Loud & Clear web portal will share more data on the global streaming economy and aims to break down the royalty system to give a better idea of where all the money is actually going.