Robbie Fink

@eastlovemusic

[Spotify for Artists @spotifyartists]

Today, we updated our annual Loud & Clear report, designed to demystify how artists earn money through streaming, and highlight the evolving global music landscape. We believe in showing you the full picture. That's why we share a level of royalty data that no other streaming service publishes.

Spotify pays the majority of every dollar we generate from music back to your selected rights holders (record labels, publishers, PROs, collecting societies and distributors). 🎶In 2025, that added up to more than $11 billion, the the largest annual payment to music from any retailer. And these payouts aren’t concentrated to a small number of superstar artists, either. Once again, roughly half of royalties were generated by independent artists and labels.

Spotify alone has now paid out nearly $70 billion all-time to music rights holders to date.

🧵Here are the 2025 Takeaways you need to know.

[Sam Duboff @duboff]

this isn’t true.

there’s no fixed “per-stream rate” on spotify, apple music, or any streaming service for that matter.

all major services use a revenue-share model (so if you get 1% of streams, you get 1% of the royalty pool). divide a royalty pool by fewer streams and the “rate” looks higher — but that just means less listening and low-engagement users, not bigger paychecks.

at spotify, we’ve focused on making the overall artist paycheck as big as possible, not chasing a per-stream number that can be inflated by lower usage. over the past 10 years, spotify’s annual payouts have grown 10x. last year alone, we paid out $11B — more than any retailer in music history. we'd love to see other services share out transparent data on how much they pay out, like we do.

[Charlie Hellman @Hellmania]

Hard to believe we're already approaching Wrapped season again. We've put together a destination for all the things an artist needs to do to be ready for the big day.

Check it out:
https://t.co/Hn2Jl07RUM

[Sam Duboff @duboff]

There are a lot of people in the music industry who continue to cling to the concept of a “per-stream rate.” Most people know better, but many continue to promote this misconception that a high “per-stream rate” is somehow a good thing. I get why. It seems like a straightforward way to compare streaming services. But in reality, it’s one of the most misleading metrics in music.

Have been reading a bunch of the year-end music industry reports, and a few numbers stood out that reflect what’s actually going on:

- From MiDIA: @Spotify accounts for just over one-third of global music subscribers (excluding China).
- From Luminate: In 2024, across all services, there were 4.8 trillion global streams (excluding China). Spotify’s internal data shows that nearly two-thirds of all streams from the paid tiers of streaming services happened on Spotify Premium.

Let’s put the two stats together: Spotify has one-third of global subscribers but drives two-thirds of total paid streams. Meanwhile, all other services combined account for two-thirds of subscribers, but only one-third of paid streams. What does that tell us? Spotify subscribers stream WAY more music - at least 4x more. And likely even more than that: eMarketer recently estimated that US adults spend 32.3 hours a month on Spotify, versus 3.5 hours on Amazon Music and under an hour on Apple Music.

And because all major streaming services charge around the same price (and pay out royalties in the same way), that means Spotify is providing way more value to users per dollar.

Now, back to “per-stream rate”. Some argue that a higher rate means a better deal for artists. But that’s misleading. The math is simple: [total payouts] / [total streams] = “per-stream rate”. What makes the per-stream rate look lower? You guessed it: more streams. That’s exactly what’s happening on Spotify. Because it’s the most engaging service, the calculated per-stream rate is lower.

But here’s what matters most: More streams per listener mean deeper engagement, which is great for artists. Engagement is the strongest driver of Premium conversion and retention (which is what actually increases payouts to the music industry, since roughly two-thirds of all music revenue goes back to artists’ and songwriters' rightsholders). In other words, more streams are a GOOD THING. It’s why Spotify paid out $10B to the music industry in 2024 (more than any other service) and why payouts have grown 10x in the last decade, much faster than the industry overall. In 2014, Spotify had contributed less than 10% of annual global recorded music revenue. Today, it contributes well over 25%.

So next time someone asks about a “per-stream rate,” ask a better question: Which platform generates the highest fan engagement and, consequently, the largest payouts to the music industry? Whenever you see a chart comparing the calculated "per stream rate" for music services, ask to see a chart of which service cut the biggest check, too.

[Spotify News @SpotifyNews]

Our new Loud & Clear report is out now. The future of music is being shaped by its most passionate force: fans. Get the full story—which includes how artists earn money through streaming, clarity on royalty distribution, and key takeaways. https://t.co/p9Bcq3tSva

[Spotify for Artists @spotifyartists]

For another year, Spotify set the record for the highest annual payment to the music industry from any single retailer: over $10 billion. That figure has grown tenfold over the past decade, bringing Spotify's total payouts since founding to $60B.

For more on how we got there, and what it means, hit the link below.
🔗 https://t.co/vQMvcNnw41

[Daniel Ek @eldsjal]

To all the songwriters who make these amazing beats, lyrics, and melodies that we all enjoy - we’ve updated our songwriting hub on Spotify For Artists. We have added lots of tools and resources. Hope this is helpful ... Let me know what you think!

https://t.co/ny4UiLlIJ1

[Daniel Ek @eldsjal]

Our most recent @SpotifyArtists Fan Study looks at the most die-hard fans — we call “super listeners”.

My biggest takeaway was that even though super listeners only account for 2% of an artist’s monthly listeners on Spotify… they drive more than a quarter of an artist’s monthly streams and more than half of that artist’s merch purchases through the app.

Love seeing the impact of fandom! https://t.co/kHP55AFjgf

[Daniel Ek @eldsjal]

It’s been almost 12 weeks since we launched AI DJ; Amazing is that more than half of first-time listeners come back to listen to DJ the very next day.
And today, it's rolling out to Premium users in the UK 🇬🇧 & Ireland 🇮🇪 https://t.co/SXZIrnS7ZF.

[Sam Duboff @duboff]

this year, our team built a brand new feature for wrapped — and over *40,000* artists submitted personal videos thanking their top fans through @spotifyartists. got emotional watching mine.

check out some snippets:

[Spotify for Artists @spotifyartists]

New releases are important, but our data shows your past catalog can be just as crucial for building your fanbase 📈

Learn more from the #FanStudy Catalog Edition here➡️ https://t.co/gEOCYuCjzL

[Spotify for Artists @spotifyartists]

Your catalog & merch go hand in hand 🤝

Of fans that bought merch on Spotify in 2022, 88% streamed from the artist’s catalog – compared to only 67% that streamed recent tracks.

Have you linked your @Shopify account to Spotify for Artists yet? ➡️ https://t.co/O4Ii2EV3Fn

[Spotify for Artists @spotifyartists]

Make the most of Wrapped with a complete checklist of things you can do today to prepare for the biggest fan moment of the year ✅ ✅ ✅

Get ready with Your Wrapped Soundcheck ⬇️ https://t.co/nlFqDgFxzx

[billboard @billboard]

This year, Spotify is making its Wrapped campaign more artist-friendly.

https://t.co/ofMy6xQIAe

[Sam Duboff @duboff]

wrapped is the biggest fan moment in music every year.

today we launched a new pre-wrapped experience for artists so they can connect w/ their top fans even more deeply in this year's wrapped w/ a thank you video, merch & ticketing offers, and more.

https://t.co/p0aIwkzlpK

[RUSS @russdiemon]

This is super useful info for artists

https://t.co/2gDhyGEpnD

[Sam Duboff @duboff]

love seeing the smart ways artist teams are using our growing @spotifyartists music marketing platform. great case study on how one band sequenced marquee, discovery mode, & canvas in a really effective release strategy. check it out: https://t.co/c99ggCdT6x

[Spotify for Artists @spotifyartists]

Thanks to the digital age, artists have more ways to promote their music than ever before, but understanding the tools you have at your disposal is key 🔑

Explore In Focus & learn how @BelieveMusic_UK mastered Marquee to reach more fans: https://t.co/KKx4IRVQAS

[Sam Duboff @duboff]

had a great conversation with @ariherstand about everything @spotifyartists — playlisting, canvas, marquee, merch, royalties, avoiding artificial streaming, & more. thx for having me on, ari! https://t.co/Mikqj7c3FB

[Spotify for Artists @spotifyartists]

Fans love to show their dedication with merch 💙

Supercharge your virtual merch table by connecting your
@Shopify store to your Spotify for Artists profile 💡

Learn how to get your swag in front of fans with In Focus, our new interactive career guide: https://t.co/ockQBZa1ZX