Spotify pays artists less than half of what Apple Music pays artists
In 2024, 1,000 music streams generated on average $3.41 – a decrease of less than 2% vs 2023, according to Duetti, which also found that Spotify pays artists less than half of what Apple Music pays artists.
After years of decline, earnings per stream seem to be stabilizing across the industry. This is primarily driven by consumer price increases which are translating into higher royalty payouts, as well as the growing “wallet share” of YouTube (largely at the expense of Spotify).
Duetti:
Amazon Music continues to pay the highest rates as services are bundled within Prime memberships.
Apple’s payouts remain strong due to their foothold in higher-price markets, and the lack of ad-supported tiers.
YouTube’s payout increases are driven by increases in subscription programs (versus ad revenues).*
Spotify continues to have low payout rates caused by high usage, geographical mix, reliance on discounted / free plans, and their Discovery Mode program.
*YouTube rates vary significantly across artists depending on underlying revenue source; the selected rate represents an average across independent artists in our study.
Note: All figures represent global payout rates. We restated historical figures versus our 2023 report due to a significantly greater data set (particularly for additional revenue streams for YouTube). (Source: Duetti)
MacDailyNews Take: Music fans who want to support their favorite artists subscribe to Apple Music over Spotify.
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