Streaming platforms such as Spotify, Tidal, Apple Music, and YouTube Music pay artists on a pay-per-stream basis. Each time you listen to a certain artist’s content, the music streaming platform pays that artist a small royalty fee for the privilege. Do you want to know how much Spotify pays artists per stream? Let’s look over the streaming payouts comparison in 2024 right in this blog.
Streaming Payout Comparison: Statistics to Have a Look into!
Music streaming platforms have changed music sales. Statista report shows that the total revenue of the recorded music industry reached 28.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2023. Streaming covers almost 56% of this figure, bringing in 11.9 billion dollars. Furthermore, music streaming is increasing by 20.7% annually between 2016 and 2021.
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Digital music downloading is predicted to fall by 19.2% in the same period. Physical recorded music is predicted to suffer and will fall by 11.6% annually. That’s all good; however, most artists contributing to the streaming platforms wonder how big a piece of the pie they can get. How much do top players like Spotify pay per stream? What other platforms pay? and more.
What is Spotify?
Founded in April 2006, Spotify is a Swedish media as well as an audio streaming service provider. The platform was founded by Martin Lorentzon and Daniel Ek and is the largest streaming provider with millions of active users worldwide. Meanwhile, the company has more than 400 million active users, including 180 million monthly or annual paying subscribers.
How Much Does Spotify Pay Per Streams: Check Every Detail Here!
Spotify is a music streaming software that provides digital audio content to users. Listeners can access basic audio content for free, whereas premium users or subscribers can access content in offline mode and can enjoy music streaming content without advertising.
In the fourth quarter of 2021, Spotify accounted for 406 million active users globally. The platform accounted for around 124 million paying subscribers in 2019, this marked growth of 60 million between 2010 and 2021.
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Spotify enables its users to share brand or user-curated playlists between friends or publicly. Streamers can choose what to listen to based on their preference and current mood. The ability to share streaming content easily and speedily provides an element of social connectivity reserved by networking sites.
The music streaming giant Spotify pays artists between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream on average. Around 70% of the total revenue is earned per stream, which goes to the rights holders; however, the rest is absorbed by the music streaming platforms. The distribution contract signed by the artist with Spotify and their country of residence influences how much the artist will be paid.
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Artists can earn an average of $3,300 to $3,500 per 1 million streams. The figures can fluctuate to some extent in 2020 as well as 2021, rising slightly for the first time since the company was launched in 2006.
How is Spotify’s Pay-Per-Stream Pays Calculated?
Like other music streaming solutions, Spotify follows an easy payment model and is a closely guarded secret. You can’t find any specific number on the company site. However, if you’re an artist, you can prefer to use a Spotify stream calculator to get a clear map of what you will be paid for.
Music Streaming Payouts Comparison: Which Streaming Platform Pays the Most?
Spotify eliminates paying artists royalties based on streaming rates. The payments that artists get differ based on differences in the music streaming or agreements they have with distributors and labels. Spotify Free and Premium handle music royalties differently.
The royalties are distributed from the net revenue collected from premium subscriptions and ad fees. The music streaming platform offers better royalties when Premium users stream music.
Spotify pays around $0.004 per playback. Thus, it’s crucial to reach 250 listeners to make at least a dollar. Artists have to stream a lot to earn more and manage profits. Thus there is controversy regarding how Spotify pays artists. The average pay per stream across the board ranges somewhere around $0.00173.
Apple Music pays $0.0675 per stream to artists, while Amazon Music pays around $0.00426 per stream. Check more streaming payout comparisons in 2024 to know how other music streaming platforms pay to the artists.
Napster
This music streaming platform remains king of streaming music payouts; however, it has less usage. The audio streaming platform pays around $0.01682 per play. Napster now pays out an average of $0.019 per stream. The artist needs 77,474 total plays to meet the monthly minimum wage amount in the U.S. of $1,472.
Tidal
The music streaming platform remains friendly to artists as it pays around $0.01284 per stream. Artists on Tidal need approximately 117,760 total plays to earn $1,472.
Apple Music
This music streaming platform pays much better compared to other streaming rivals like Spotify. Apple Music pays around $0.0064 to $0.00783. The platform has upped its rate further in 2021 and announced that its artists would get a royalty rate of 1 cent ($0.01) per stream. Apple Music artists would need approximately 147,200 plays to make the U.S. monthly minimum wage amount.
Deezer
Deezer, a French-based music streaming platform, has not yet succeeded in creating enough presence in the market. In 2018 with a $0.0056 payout, the streaming company topped in 2019, and the company paid around $0.00624. The pay per stream has risen slowly to $0.0064, helping the company gain a place right behind GPM. Artists need about 230,000 total plays to earn the monthly minimum wage amount.
Amazon
Apple Music, Google, and Amazon guard their user’s metrics. Amazon Music paid indie artists around $0.0074 per play this year. The number has plummeted and reached $0.00402, placing it above Spotify. Artists will need around 366,169 total streams to earn the monthly minimum wage amount.
Pandora
The music streaming platform has the second-highest total users in the U.S. and pays $0.0011 per play to artists. The digital radio service increased the rate to $0.00134 in 2019. Pandora has settled on paying artists around $0.00133 on Pandora Premium. Artists on Pandora Premium will need 1,106,767 total plays just to earn $1,472.
YouTube Music
Due to the horrendous payouts of YouTube Music, it hasn’t been an artist-friendly platform. The video streaming platform in 2017 paid around $0.0006 per play. The company had increased its rate to $0.00074. However, YouTube executives have pulled a U-Turn, choosing to pay artists $0.00069. Artists need 2,133,333 total plays on YouTube to earn the monthly minimum wage amount in the U.S.
Not All Streams are Created Equal
Here is where all things get more interesting; there is no such all-in content or revenue pool. However, there are lots of separate buckets for each subscription tier, the local market, and so on.
All types of streams create different content pools, which means not all streams are equally valuable. You would not try to cross the river as it is 4 feet deep on average. In the same way, you should judge the artist’s earnings based on the average per-stream payout depending on the platform selection.
Ending Note
The above-listed of music streaming payout comparison might help you know how much Spotify pays per stream and how much other music streaming rivals pay the artist. The reality is artists need to work hard to earn a good profit from digital streaming; they need to get hundreds of streams or more per month to earn.
Instead of contributing to third-party streaming apps, they can choose to develop and launch their own and start a good streaming business. Want to start an online streaming business? We can help you with it, our ready-to-use Spotify clone helps you launch your music streaming business online. It consists of advanced features and modules that help you meet the growing demand of streamers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do streaming platforms pay artists?
Streaming platforms pay artists based on a pay-per-stream model, where they receive a fraction of a cent each time their song is streamed by a user. The exact amount varies depending on the platform and other factors.
What is the average payout per stream on an app like Spotify?
The average payout per stream on Spotify is between $0.003 and $0.005. However, this figure can vary based on the artist’s contract with Spotify and their country of residence.
Which streaming platform pays artists the most?
Napster currently holds the title for paying artists the most per stream, with an average payout of around $0.01682. However, Napster’s usage is relatively low compared to other platforms.
Do all streams generate the same revenue for artists?
No, not all streams generate the same revenue for artists. Different subscription tiers, local markets, and other factors can influence the payout per stream.
How can artists increase their earnings from streaming platforms?
Artists can increase their earnings by focusing on promoting their music, growing their fan base, and encouraging listeners to stream their songs on platforms that offer higher payouts per stream.
Are there alternative options for artists to earn revenue from their music?
Yes, besides streaming platforms, artists can explore other revenue streams such as live performances, merchandise sales, licensing deals, and crowdfunding. Diversifying income sources can help artists mitigate reliance on streaming royalties alone.