Music on Spotify earns two kinds of royalties:
- Recording royalties: The money owed to rightsholders for recordings streamed on Spotify, which is paid to artists through the licensor that delivered the music, typically their record label or distributor.
- Publishing royalties: The money owed to songwriter(s) or owner(s) of a composition. These payments are issued to publishers, collecting societies, and mechanical agencies based on the territory of usage.
When an eligible song gets played on Spotify, the rightsholders receive royalties for it, whether it’s played by a Premium or ad-supported customer.
For detailed info on music industry economics and artist payments, check out spotify.com/loudandclear.
How we calculate and process royalties
We distribute the net revenue from Premium subscription fees and ads to rightsholders. To calculate net revenue, we subtract the money we collect but don’t get to keep. This includes payments for things like taxes, credit card processing fees, and billing, along with some other things like sales commissions. From there, the rightsholder’s share of net revenue is determined by streamshare.
We calculate streamshare by tallying the total number of streams in a given month and determining what proportion of those streams were people listening to music owned or controlled by a particular rightsholder.
Contrary to what you might have heard, Spotify does not pay artist royalties according to a per-play or per-stream rate; the royalty payments that artists receive might vary according to differences in how their music is streamed or the agreements they have with labels or distributors.
How artists and songwriters get paid
In many cases, royalty payments happen once a month, but exactly when and how much artists and songwriters get paid depends on their agreements with their record label or distributor - or collection societies and publishers in the case of songwriters. Once we pay rightsholders according to their streamshare, they pay artists and songwriters according to their individual agreements. Spotify has no knowledge of the agreements that artists and songwriters sign with their labels, publishers, or collecting societies, so we can’t answer why a rightsholder’s payment comes to a particular amount in a particular month.
For more information, see How the Money Flows.
Need more help?
For info more specific to you, or if you have an issue with your recording royalties, we suggest talking to your label or distributor since they handle the licensing and distribution of your music, and are the ones who administer your royalties.
If you have questions about publishing royalties, you can reach out to your publisher, performing rights organization, or collecting society.
In November 2023, we announced some upcoming changes to our royalty policies. Learn more about these announcements here
FAQs
As for how much Spotify pays per stream, they pay roughly $0.04 per 10 streams. So, 1000 streams would be around $4, and 100,000 streams would be $400. Remember, this result may be lower based on certain factors such as if only half of your song was listened to.
How much does 1 million streams on Spotify pay? ›
Starting in January 2024, Spotify will start paying artists once they reach 1,000 streams in the last 12 months. In other words, if you reach 1 million streams, you will receive about $3,000 to $4,000 in royalties throughout your digital distribution.
What are the royalties on Spotify? ›
Spotify pays artists between $0.003 - $0.005 per stream on average. That works out as an approx revenue split of 70/30 - so that's 70% to the artist/rights holders and 30% to Spotify.
How many plays on Spotify does it take to make $100? ›
The exact number of plays to earn $100 on Spotify can fluctuate due to varying royalty rates. However, based on an average payout of $0.0033 per stream, you'd need approximately 30,303 plays. Remember, this is a rough estimate, and actual earnings from your music streamed may vary based on several factors.
Who is the highest paid artist on Spotify? ›
Taylor Swift is still the queen of Spotify, with over 81 million lead streams, putting her total earnings at over $327 million. This is ahead of the most-streamed male artist, Drake at 76 million streams and $304 million.
How much does Taylor Swift make from Spotify? ›
The estimated $131 million in royalties Taylor Swift's music earned from Spotify is 1.3% of $9.7 billion, so I'll assume she received 1.3% of all Spotify royalty payments. Taylor Swift is paid as both the composer and performer of her music, and also owns the master recordings of the “Taylor's Version” of her albums.
How long does Spotify take to pay royalties? ›
We typically process payouts during the last two working weeks of every month.
Does Spotify pay artists fairly? ›
Spotify pays artists a certain amount for each stream, but the rate varies. It typically ranges from about $0.003 to $0.005 per stream. The exact amount can depend on the type of subscription you have (Premium or Free), where you are listening from, and the specific agreements Spotify has with artists or their labels.
Will Spotify stop paying artists in 2024? ›
In 2024, Spotify plans to stop paying artists who do not make 1000 streams yearly. This affects small artists who are just trying to start. It is nothing to be surprised about because the music industry has never treated music artists with consideration.
Has anyone hit $100 million monthly listeners on Spotify? ›
Background. Billie Eilish has become the youngest artist ever to reach 100 million monthly Spotify listeners. At just 22 years old, the 'Lunch' singer is now the third artist ever to reach the milestone, joining The Weeknd and Taylor Swift.
The number of artists who reached other thresholds also increased at a higher clip in 2023 than in 2022. Last year, the number of artists who made $100,000 from Spotify in 2023 rose 15% to 11,600, compared to 10,100 the prior year, when the number was up 6%.
How much does Drake make from Spotify? ›
As the most-streamed artist of the 2010s – and in Spotify history – the 6 God carries the Spotify title of having some of the most-played songs on the platform, including 2016's "One Dance" and 2018's "God's Plan." In 2021, EDM.com estimated that Drake's streams made him a high earner, banking $52 million in Spotify ...
How much does Spotify pay for 10,000 streams? ›
Under Spotify's current model, an artist whose music garners 10,000-50,000 monthly streams earns $100-600 per month from Spotify, according to estimates by Sound Campaign.
What happens when you get 1000 streams on Spotify? ›
MBW has subsequently confirmed with sources close to conversations between Spotify and music rightsholders that 1,000 streams will indeed be the minimum yearly play-count volume that each track on the service has to hit in order to start generating royalties from Q1 2024.
How much Spotify pay for 5,000 streams? ›
How much do artists earn from 5,000 streams on Spotify? 5,000 streams generate around $20, depending on the listener's location, how often the song is played, and the type of subscription.
