Taylor Swift inspires new EMS billing model

I've been reading in the papers lately that Taylor Swift and Spotify have been going back and forth about royalties for her songs playing on the streaming music site.

According to sources, she was paid less than $500,000 for 12 months of her songs playing on the site.

My first two words were Boo and Hoo.

Then I looked at the feed of a friend of mine who is a musician.  They have a fair argument in that the way the industry is arranged you get a small amount for creating the music (writers, musicians, performers) then more the more the piece is performed.  It makes sense on a certain level, but the model is clearly outdated.  Before it can be changed, the industry should realize that fewer and fewer of us listen to terrestrial radio (where their songs are actually placed at cost, not at profit) and more of us are streaming music using spotify and Pandora like apps.

I start with a band I like, then it introduces me to other bands I may like as well.  Then I buy their albums, but not in a store (that used to take as much as 30% of the 19.99 for the long box), I pay 99 cents per song on itunes at no cost to the production company.

This line of thought brought me back to EMS.  Let's apply the music industry reimbursement model to what we do:

First off, you'll be required to create unique treatment models and protocols.  Then you'll be paid a small amount for actually providing the care requested. (no real change there, right?)

Now here's the BIG difference:

You get 1% of your patient's income.  For life.

Are you motivated to provide quality care now?  Will you go to any level to ensure high quality care in any location in the world?

How quickly will our industry adapt to this new model?  Suddenly the more calls we run the more we can possibly make.  Will we focus on younger patients?  Will we ignore certain neighborhoods unlikely to yield incomes worth our efforts?  I think you know the answer to that.

 

While I still don't feel bad for Taylor Swift only making half a million a year on 1 web site for something she did long ago I also know she wasn't in there alone and the folks who were aren't necessarily the ones out on tour or behind her on SNL making money.  They were brought in for a day to play saxophone, record a piano solo or sing backup with the promise of a cut of the plays in the future.

Although I think billing EMS based on future income would see a HUGE shift in our comfort with pediatric patients.  Don't you?

Comments