Let’s take a closer look at how much artists earn every time you press ‘play’ on Spotify.
Spotify is a key revenue source for many artists, making its payment policy crucial for supporting your favorite musicians.
However, with different factors influencing the numbers, calculating Spotify’s actual payout per stream can be confusing.
That’s why we researched more than a hundred testimonials from artists in and out of the US to determine how much artists earn on Spotify. Let’s dive in!
How Much Does Spotify Pay per Stream?
Spotify hasn’t officially revealed its per-stream rate, but our research combining more than a hundred testimonials from different artists found that Spotify is averaging a payout of $0.0032 per stream.
However, this average rate may not be fully accurate, as Spotify states they use a streamshare payment model. They divide monthly profits by total plays and pay artists based on that figure.
Additionally, Spotify doesn’t pay artists directly. They pay track rights holders, who then compensate their artists.
How Are Spotify’s Streaming Payouts Calculated?
Streaming platforms usually have a fixed payout rate per stream multiplied by the stream count. So, if we use Spotify’s $0.0032 per stream rate, an album with 1,500,000 streams should earn $4,800.
On the other hand, with Spotify’s streamshare model, the payout per stream will depend on the monthly profits and total streams in a specific country. For example, if a track accounts for one in every 1,000 streams from Italy in June, the rights holders get 1/1000 of Spotify Italy’s June profits.
Royalties are paid monthly by Spotify. However, the timing and amount artists receive depend on their contract with rights holders. Indie artists usually keep all profits, while major labels take a cut for expenses like advertising and distribution.
Factors Affecting Spotify’s Streaming Payouts
While there are many variables involved, streaming payouts to artists depend primarily on the local market and user type. Here’s a quick look at each:
Free vs. Premium streams
User type affects artist earnings per stream, with payouts varying across streaming platforms due to different subscription models. On platforms like Spotify and Deezer, which offer free and premium plans, average payouts come from both subscriptions and ad revenue.
For context, a 2017 study reported Spotify’s Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) for premium subscribers at $4.81, versus $0.51 for free streams. That said, even with equal streams, premium users contribute more revenue than free users.
Local streaming markets
Market conditions influence streaming payouts globally.
For example, a Spotify Premium subscription costs $10.99/month in the U.S. but roughly $3.99 in a smaller market like Indonesia. In this case, Spotify reduced its prices to compete with local services like Joox, which charges only $1.50/month.
Apple Music and YouTube Music have similarly adjusted their pricing, leading to smaller per-stream payouts for artists.
Pay-for-play features
Spotify takes a fee for boosting songs via Discovery Mode. While exact rates are undisclosed, some artists say they pay up to $0.50 per user click. This tool allows artists to select songs for paid inclusion in Spotify’s personalized playlist algorithm, boosting visibility and potential earnings.
The fee can be high relative to average streaming rates. And with no guaranteed results, it’s a risky investment for artists unsure of its value.
How Much Do Other Music Streaming Platforms Pay per Stream?
The table below shows artist earnings per stream and the number of streams needed to earn $1,000 on the different music streaming platforms.
| Platform | Pay per stream | Streams to get $1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| Tidal | $0.013 | 76,924 |
| Apple Music | $0.01 | 100,000 |
| Amazon Music | $0.004 | 250,000 |
| Spotify | $0.0032 | 312,500 |
| Youtube Music | $0.008 | 125,000 |
| Pandora | $0.0013 | 769,231 |
| Deezer | $0.0064 | 156,250 |
| Qobuz | $0.043 | 23,255 |
How do other music streaming platforms calculate streaming payouts?
Streaming services use various methods to determine royalties, leading to diverse payouts per stream. Here are the average rates for other major platforms:
- Apple Music: The company pays about $0.01 per stream, one of the highest rates among platforms. However, this doesn’t directly reach artists. Like other platforms, Apple Music uses a pro-rated model, giving 52% of its ad revenue to labels indiscriminately.
- Deezer: Deezer’s “Pay who you play” system directs subscriber payments solely to the artists they listen to, although payout rates vary by location and subscription type.
- Amazon Music: Artists usually earn $0.004 per play, but Prime Music accounts pay less—around $0.00139 per stream. Artists can earn more by selling music on Amazon’s Digital Music Store, where Amazon takes a 30% cut.
- Pandora: According to David Crosby, Pandora pays only $0.0013 per stream. However, royalty recipients vary by stream tier. Artists receive ad-supported stream payments via SoundExchange, while record labels get subscription-based royalties.
- YouTube Music: The platform pays artists $0.008 per stream but its popularity and ad revenue from music videos can boost earnings. YouTube ads pay $7-10 per 1,000 impressions, yet only 30-40% of views are monetized. A music video needs roughly 4,000 views to earn this amount.
- Tidal: Tidal, though less popular, pays artists the most at up to $0.013 per stream, totaling $13,000 per million streams. Tidal’s artist-friendly approach includes Tidal Rising, which offers extra royalties from HiFi Plus tier subscribers based on subscription revenues.
- Qobuz: Qobuz pays artists $0.043 per stream, based on 2018 data, which may be outdated. Notably, Qobuz reduced its share of artist royalties during the pandemic to support smaller artists.
FAQs About Streaming Payouts
- Can artists live off music streaming payouts?
- How can I increase my earnings from streaming platforms?
- Why do so many musicians hate Spotify?
Can artists live off music streaming payouts?
Unless they’re really famous, artists rarely make a living from music streaming, with indie artists particularly affected.
To illustrate, consider a minimum wage of $15 per hour, or $31,200 annually. Earning an annual minimum wage requires 10.4 million Spotify streams, not including expenses and deductions. To put it another way, an artist requires 312,500 streams to earn $1,000 at this rate, not counting fees, so the actual number could be higher.
How can I increase my earnings from streaming platforms?
Artists can enhance streaming revenue by regularly releasing and promoting new music, targeting English-speaking markets for higher per-stream payouts, featuring tracks on popular Spotify playlists, and optimizing their Spotify presence using SEO tactics. This multi-faceted approach helps in growing the fanbase, increasing visibility, and boosting earnings.
Why do so many musicians hate Spotify?
Many musicians criticize Spotify for its perceived inadequate pay-per-stream, arguing it reflects broader industry issues. They also feel compelled to use the platform due to a lack of alternatives and are concerned about working conditions within the streaming industry, all contributing to a general discontent towards Spotify and similar platforms.
“ For songs under 5 minutes, the mechanical royalty rate is 9.1 cents per stream and 1.75 cents per minute for songs over 5 minutes.”
This is not correct. This is 9.1 cents per sale not per stream
Is the 0.12$ tidal pay per stream real?
Like I can’t believe my eyes actually…
You were right to not believe your eyes. No, it is not real. It is 0.012 (actually closer to 0.013 now), not 0.12. Tidal is still by far the best platform for supporting artists, but articles like this need to get their facts straight.
RhankoKama & Noon, thank you. We’ll be updating the article once we verify the numbers. 🙂
Please do…I can’t believe what am seeing
Your math for the Justin Bieber song is wrong. You said mechanical royalties payout at 9.1 cents ($0.091) but you multiplied 17.4 million streams times 91 cents ($0.91). 17.4 million would only generate $1,583,400 not $15.4 million.
The number for tidal in this article is FALSE. It is 0.012 usd per stream NOT 0.12!!!!!! Please fix this!
Hi BC! Apologies for our math and thank you for pointing this out. 😳
I’ve never been paid from Qobuz ever. My music been out also spinning on there app since 2020 🤦🏿♂️
Hi everyone! Thank you for bringing these inaccuracies to our attention and apologies for the mistake. We are investigating the matter and will be updating the article with the new & verified numbers, soon!
Hi all! We just updated the article to address all concerns and verify the numbers! 🙂
So it’s $0.0033 per stream of original music.
What % of that do you earn per stream for cover songs?
it depends of your deal. if you dont have license to do a cover all the royalties will be for the copyright holders, if you have a license which mean you have the right monetize, then the total amount will be divide by x% for label (master recording rights)and x% for publishing (song compositions rights) then from the master recording the artist that is performing the song (in this case yourself) get a percentage and from song copyrights the compositors get another percentage.
I have been on Pandora since 2007, I have over a half billion streams on my music there. A follower of mine sent me this article astonished at Pandora’s low payout. I feel like Pandora is continuously getting an undeserved badrap because people fail to research updated accurate information. I can vouch for my own payouts, as well as the the info is verified on the Copyright Board website. Please watch my TikTok explaining correct Pandora payouts. https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTdwCnP1u/?k=1
Jennifer, thank you for sharing your insights!
Very good.
At least I’d learnt how much platforms pay. And may ideas.
Thanks for the update.
Please, you didn’t mention Audiomack and Mdundo.com. I want to also know what artist gets from download, likes and comments that’s if artist gets anything from the aforementioned. Thanks!
Thanks for the article! What about Soundcloud? I’d also like to know if likes and comments monetarily help my favorite artists. I like to do that anyways.
Hi, I live off my music royalties and here are some facts for everyone. Spotify is by far the lowest paying service at .002!! Napster is the highest at about 1 cent per stream. Amazon is at about .004 for USA streams. euro or british pound streams is .oo8. THIS GOES FOR ALL STREAMING, EUROPE PAYS ABOUT DOUBLE PER STREAM THAN USA. all the others are in mixed between .003 and .006.
QUBUZ AND DEEZER DO NOT PAY, THEY NEED TO BE INVESTIGATED. TIDAL AND NAPSTER ALWAYS PAY 3-6 MONTHS LATE.
Deezer pays
No mention of Napster?
Does Soundcloud pay artists for streams???
I’ve been loving Tidal for the last year or so and joined partly because of their move to fan-centred royalties. But all mention of it has recently been quietly removed from their website, and it is no longer mentioned as a feature of their Hi-Fi Plus tier. When I contacted them asking for clarification, they avoided the issue and kept directing me to the direct artist payouts (which are up and running, but are a separate thing entirely). I’ve downgraded my subscription to the Hi-Fi tier in disappointment.
Still appreciate that they are (apparently) one of the best payers and love the service. But the transparency needs to improve.
Would appreciate some more detailed insight as to where Tidal really are with fan-centred royalties.
Ummm… $0.01 is not a tenth of a cent, it’s a cent. 100 cents to a dollar. In the Apple Music section.
Hi MRP! Thank you for bringing this to our attention! We corrected the article. 👍
Mechanical royalties are only 9.1 when they’re downloads or physical copies like cd!s or vinyl. Your record label or distributor is obligated to pay you directly.
When it comes to mechanicals in STREAMS it is only calculated by percentages of the service revenue involved in that particular period. Depending on what period you read this, the copyright, the CRJ’s may have changed the percentage.
Spotify, or any other music streaming platform, does not have a fixed rate per stream. It is a percentage of total revenue divided by the total number of streams. For Spotify, this typically averages 0.33¢, but it is not a fixed rate.
Spotify, or any other music streaming platform, does not have a fixed rate per stream. It is a percentage of total revenue divided by the total number of streams. For Spotify, this typically averages 0.33¢, but it is not a fixed rate.