{"id":225954,"date":"2025-03-12T14:01:42","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T14:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=225954"},"modified":"2025-03-14T15:23:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T15:23:23","slug":"12m-artists-uploaded-music-to-spotify-last-year-less-than-0-6-generated-10000-or-more-in-royalties1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/12m-artists-uploaded-music-to-spotify-last-year-less-than-0-6-generated-10000-or-more-in-royalties1\/","title":{"rendered":"12m artists uploaded music to Spotify last year. Less than 0.6% generated $10,000 or more in royalties."},"content":{"rendered":"MBW\u2019s Stat Of The Week is a series in which we highlight a data point that deserves the attention of the global music industry. Stat Of the Week is supported by\u00a0music data analytics firm\u00a0Chartmetric<\/a>.\r\n\r\n
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Spotify is good for artists \u2013 that\u2019s the message underlying almost every point made in the latest edition of the music platform\u2019s annual Loud & Clear<\/em> music economics report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a point that Spotify may feel it needs to make, given some recent criticism the platform has received from some artists and industry insiders about what they see as low royalty rates or unfair practices<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Witness, for instance, Snoop Dogg<\/strong>\u2019s recent criticism<\/a> of Spotify\u2019s payment structure. He claimed he received less than $45,000<\/b> for accumulating over one billion streams on the platform. (Spotify responded<\/a> just last week in a statement to TMZ, however, noting that, “it\u2019s well documented that a billion streams on Spotify generates millions of dollars to rights holders. It\u2019s unfortunate to hear that Spotify\u2019s payments didn\u2019t make it through to Snoop.”)<\/p>\n

Spotify points out in its new report that there are<\/em> artists making small amounts on its platform, but that there are more<\/em> artists making money on the platform than ever. And some (a few) of these artists are even becoming \u201cnew music millionaires.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the updated report<\/a>, 12 million<\/strong> artists uploaded at least one track to Spotify in 2024, up from 10 million<\/strong> in 2023.<\/p>\n

There were 1,450 artists<\/strong> who generated USD $1 million<\/strong> or more in royalties from the platform. (That is the number of recording artists whose catalogs generated recording and publishing royalties over $1m on Spotify alone).<\/p>\n

That figure is up from around 1,250<\/a> who generated that much in the prior year. (Spotify estimates these artists made at least $4 million<\/strong> each in 2024, when including other sources of income.)<\/p>\n

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Interestingly, Spotify says that more than 80%<\/strong> of the artists who earned over $1 million in royalties last year didn\u2019t have a single song reach Spotify\u2019s Global Daily Top 50 chart in 2024.<\/p>\n

Nor are they necessarily legacy artists with a sentimental following from back in the day \u2013 the majority of them only launched their music careers after 2010.<\/p>\n

Spotify\u2019s takeaway? \u201cSuccess in the streaming era doesn\u2019t require a chart-topping hit or a decade-spanning catalog \u2013 it\u2019s about building a loyal fanbase that keeps coming back.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Spotify<\/figcaption><\/a><\/figure><\/strong><\/p>\n
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But it\u2019s not just about the one-million club \u2013 there are more artists earning royalties at every income level, the Loud & Clear<\/em> report says.<\/p>\n

There were 71,200 artists<\/strong> who generated $10,000<\/strong> or more in 2024, and 12,500<\/strong> who generated $100,000<\/strong> or more.<\/p>\n

Both those groups of earners have roughly tripled in size since 2017, according to Spotify.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, given there are 12 million<\/strong> uploaders on Spotify, this means that less than 0.6%<\/strong> of Spotify uploaders generated at least $10,000<\/strong> in 2024.<\/p>\n

Viewed as a percentage of total uploaders, the numbers for each of those royalty-generating thresholds get even smaller the higher we go.<\/p>\n

The 12,500<\/strong> artists who generated $100,000<\/strong> or more on Spotify last year represent just 0.1%<\/strong> of all uploaders.<\/p>\n

And the 1,450 artists<\/strong> who generated over $1 million <\/strong>accounted for just 0.012%<\/strong> of Spotify’s 12 million uploaders.<\/p>\n

What we’re looking at, according to Spotify, is the “Paradox of the Modern Music Industry.”<\/p>\n

“Streaming has allowed millions to easily share their music globally \u2014 that\u2019s an amazing thing,” said Spotify in the report. “But the sheer volume of uploaders means the fraction who find success appears smaller over time.”<\/p>\n

MBW has previously found it useful to compare the success rate of Spotify’s uploader base with that of another highly competitive field in which to pursue a career: professional soccer.<\/p>\n

It’s worth doing that again this year for a bit of broader context about what these new stats mean for those pursuing a career as an artist.<\/p>\n

There are an estimated 240 million<\/a> registered soccer players worldwide. According to FIFA’s 2023 Professional Football Report,<\/a> there were “128,694<\/strong> professional male footballers at 3,986 clubs in 135 countries around the world.”<\/p>\n

In other words, one of those professional soccer players had a 0.053% <\/span><\/strong>chance of becoming a “professional” \u2013 i.e paid (something) to play soccer.<\/p>\n

As you can see, that\u2019s a fraction of the chance (0.59%) that an artist has of generating $10,000<\/strong> or more per year on Spotify<\/strong> today.<\/p>\n

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Spotify<\/figcaption><\/a><\/figure>\n
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Elsewhere in the report, Spotify said it has paid out nearly $4.5 billion<\/strong> to publishing rightsholders globally over the past two years, adding that the payout saw \u201cdouble-digit percentage growth\u201d from 2023 to 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cSongwriters \u2013 through their publishers, PROs, and collecting societies \u2013 are generating record-breaking revenues driven by streaming services,\u201d Spotify asserts.<\/p>\n

Last year, Spotify said<\/a> that music publishing rights holders had received nearly $4 billion<\/strong> of the money paid out by Spotify over the prior two years.<\/p>\n

That new $4.5 billion<\/strong> stat arrives amid the platform’s bundling dispute with the MLC<\/a> over mechanical royalties for songwriters and music publishers in the US.<\/p>\n

\u201cSongwriters \u2013 through their publishers, PROs, and collecting societies \u2013 are generating record-breaking revenues driven by streaming services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spotify Loud & Clear report<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The report also stresses \u2013 as Spotify had reported before<\/a> \u2013 that the platform\u2019s payouts to the wider music industry reached $10 billion<\/strong> in 2024, up by $1 billion from 2023.<\/p>\n

Spotify\u2019s music industry payout recipients include record companies and music publishers, plus independent distributors, performance rights organizations, and collecting societies.<\/p>\n

Just a decade ago, in 2014, Spotify\u2019s total payout was one-tenth that amount, at $1 billion<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Notably, the platform had around 15 million paying subscribers back in 2014, versus 263 million<\/strong> as of the end of 2024<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpotify paid out more than any other retailer or streaming service in 2024,\u201d the report said, adding that the $10 billion payout \u201cis the largest in music industry history \u2013 more than any single retailer has ever paid in a year, and over 10x the contribution of the largest record store at the height of the CD era.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Spotify<\/figcaption><\/a><\/figure>\n
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Spotify also claims that independent artists and labels collectively generated more than $5 billion<\/strong> from the platform in 2024 representing about “half of total Spotify royalties for another year”.<\/p>\n

The Loud & Clear<\/em> report also highlights something that MBW<\/em> has previously pointed out<\/a> \u2013 the majors are losing market share on the platform.<\/p>\n

According to Spotify\u2019s latest 20-F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the three majors (Sony Music<\/strong>, Universal Music Group<\/strong>, and Warner Music Group<\/strong>) plus indie representative Merlin<\/strong> received 71%<\/strong> of Spotify\u2019s payouts in 2024. That\u2019s down from 74%<\/strong> a year earlier, and 87%<\/strong> back in 2017.<\/p>\n

Spotify noted in its report that it globally “represents about one-third of overall recorded streaming revenue, but represents over 50% of indies\u2019 streaming revenue,\u201d the report said, citing data from IFPI and MIDiA.<\/p>\n

In the view of the Loud & Clear<\/em> report, “That over-index of Spotify in indies\u2019 revenue shows that our model uniquely creates more opportunities for more artists to build sustainable careers in music\u201d.<\/p>\n

“Thanks to streaming, more artists than ever before are generating royalties at every career stage. More than at any time in music history. And we think that\u2019s what really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spotify Loud & Clear report<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yet the report notes a problem with the proliferation of indie and DIY artists that others in the business have noted before: As the number of artists grows rapidly, becoming discovered as an artist becomes more difficult.<\/p>\n

Spotify’s explanation of what it calls the “paradox of the music industry,” as detailed above, highlights this reality.<\/p>\n

The company argues, however, “thanks to streaming, more artists than ever before are generating royalties at every career stage” and that “more than at any time in music history. And we think that\u2019s what really matters.”<\/p>\n

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Elsewhere in the report, Spotify revealed that “<\/strong>more artists are succeeding across borders, with more languages and diverse voices breaking into the mainstream”.<\/p>\n

According to Spotify, in 2024, the artists who generated at least $100,000<\/strong> in royalties in 2024 recorded music in over 50<\/strong> languages, while the artists who generated at least $1 million<\/strong> on Spotify recorded music in 17<\/strong> different languages, both more than double the languages at those thresholds in 2017.<\/p>\n

Spotify also highlighted how “global fandom fuels artist success”. The report noted that over 50% of the artists who generated at least $1,000 in royalties on Spotify in 2024 made the majority of their earnings from listeners outside their home country.<\/p>\n

The company said that “this demonstrates the pivotal role that export plays in the success and sustainability of an artist\u2019s career”.<\/p>\n

Around one-third of artists who generated at least $1,000 saw more than 75% of their royalties come from outside their home countries.<\/p>\n

And at the $100,000<\/strong> level, over 80% of these artists “have teamed up with musicians from abroad”.<\/p>\n

One final notable tidbit from the report: Spotify notes that\u00a0while there are currently\u00a0500 million paying music streaming subscribers<\/strong>\u00a0worldwide (IFPI<\/a>), <\/span>“a future with one billion paying listeners is within reach.”<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/figure>Chartmetric<\/a> is the all-in-one platform for artists and music industry professionals, providing comprehensive streaming, social, and audience data for everyone to create successful careers in music.<\/em><\/span><\/strong>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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