If you’re racking up Spotify streams, then knowing roughly how much other artists are earning per play is a must. The following information – sourced from Spotify royalty data shared directly with Digital Music News – will help you verify that your compensation is comparatively fair.
Spotify’s per-stream royalty rate is always changing.
While it would be convenient to give you a single, definitive Spotify royalty rate, the unfortunate reality is that no such figure exists. As you’ll see throughout the article, numerous artists have reported receiving different compensation from year to year (we’ll explain why that is below).
Further complicating matters, the vast majority of musicians opt not to share their Spotify income specifics. (If you are willing to share and help fellow musicians, please send your royalty details to news@digitalmusicnews.com.)
Several key factors affect your Spotify royalty rate.
As mentioned, your per-stream Spotify payout is dependent upon two main factors. First, each region in the world – as well as many individual countries – has a unique royalty average determined by subscription rates and advertising levels. For example, streams from the United States pay more than streams from India because subscription rates and advertising levels are comparatively higher in the U.S.
Some artists have tailored their promotional strategies in response to this point, including by seeking higher-royalty streams and, inversely, using Spotify to market themselves in regions with less competition for their style of music.
Second, if the bulk of your fans are premium account holders, you can expect a higher payout, as there’s simply more cash for Spotify to pass on. Historically, the Stockholm-headquartered platform has generated a dramatically larger amount of income from subscription fees than from advertisers, with Q2 2020 premium revenue outpacing ad-supported income by over 13 times.
The key to answering your burning question – how much does Spotify pay per stream? – is to examine royalty statements directly.
In 2016, we reported on the biggest spreadsheet of Spotify royalties that we’d received to date. Quickly gaining ground in the EDM niche, an Australian band earned $4,955.90 from 1,023,501 streams between October and February, with the sum also reflecting estimates for March, April, and May. The (often-referenced) per-stream average for these plays might surprise you: $0.004891 – or almost half a cent.
Audiam founder and CEO Jeff Price settled on a similar number – $0.00492 per stream – in his own analysis of Spotify royalties.
That said, you’ll likely be interested to know about the royalties’ possible long-term trends. Some sources indicate that Spotify’s per-stream artist payments could be dropping sharply, and the decline may have started in or before 2013 – a point that could very well affect your future Spotify income.
Back in December 2019, for instance, you may have read our report on cellist Zoe Keating’s receiving a $753 check from Spotify, as compensation for 206,011 streams. Rounding up, the sum represents a per-stream royalty rate of $0.0037 – down from Keating’s 2018 Spotify royalty rate of about $0.0054. Audiam also suggested that Spotify royalties have decreased despite rising subscriber counts and revenue.
Other artists’ Spotify payment data has shown that the per-stream royalty rate could be dropping quicker yet.
In May of this year, you might have seen classical violinist Tasmin Little’s shocking description of her Spotify income. The London-based musician said that she earned just £12.34 (about $15.67) for five to six million streams. Even when calculating for the five million figure, you’ll find that the royalty rate is dramatically less than the above-reported payouts.
Little’s six-month Spotify compensation underscores two points that are probably abundantly clear to you, given the above examples: Per-stream royalties vary depending upon a multitude of details (mainly whether plays derive from premium or ad-supported accounts, as well as fans’ regions), and royalty rates seem to be trending downward.