Spotify is by far the world’s largest streaming platform. Every day thousands of songs are distributed to the service where artists can connect with hundreds of millions of paying subscribers.
What makes streaming platforms special is that these platforms have created a method for fans to gain access to unlimited content while making it possible for artists to be paid for streams of their music.
After all, streaming income across all the streaming platforms has been the topic of much debate. Many artists have been important of how little streaming platforms seem to pay per stream.
And since Spotify is the biggest streaming service provider, Spotify royalties typically sit at the center of the debate.
Everybody desires artists to be paid fairly for their work.
However there are some essential realities to confront when distributing your music to streaming platforms—sure, artists can earn money, however, it’s super necessary to be realistic and have a music marketing plan to go along with your release.
In this article, we’ll check out how exactly Spotify and streaming platforms calculate royalties.
Plus, I’ll share some artistic ideas for increasing your reach and improving your music promotion technique.
Let’s dive in!
Spotify Royalties: How much does Spotify pay per stream?
Contrary to common belief, Spotify doesn’t pay a set royalty per stream. Instead, Spotify royalties are based mostly on pools of money available to sets of artists on the platform.
For instance, artists belonging to a pool that gets fewer plays or contains fewer artists will get higher payments. That means payments per stream can fluctuate.
Spotify hasn’t said a lot about how exactly artists are pooled into numerous groups. However, it’s safe to guess that some of these decisions are based on genre, engagement, and release frequency.
In any case, Spotify is incentivized to reward and keep high-quality artists that release often on their platform.
It’s also why there’s no clear answer about how much a single stream will earn.
Should I pay for streams?
The short answer is choosing the right provider. This method can support you at the first stages. Choosing the truth-worthy provider among tons of them out there is essential.
Promoting your music, building your viewers, and releasing often is your greatest bet for climbing Spotify’s algorithm and increasing your streaming income.
Are Spotify royalties fair?
There’s no simple way to answer this question—especially because Spotify’s royalty payment system is constantly evolving.
We’ve seen emerging artists post their concerns about the relatively small compensation they received for a breakout hit—these questions about how artists should be paid are completely warranted.
However considering that Spotify’s catalog is growing by 60,000 songs per day, there are loads to manage and there’s no method to assure that all payments can be fair.
It’s better to give attention to what you can do by yourself to write down great tracks, promote them and grow your audience.
If you’ve had a breakout hit that resulted in lackluster Spotify royalties, keep in mind to take a look at the larger image. You’ve got lots to be excited about!
Without the help of a record label your tracks are resonating with audiences on Spotify, your fan base is rising and your next releases are only going to be larger and larger.
Your job is to provide you with creative ways to develop and monetize your audience. Do that and that huge streaming payday will eventually come.
Spotify Royalties: Three ways to make money with Spotify
Apart from streaming royalties, there’s a handful of how to earn money with Spotify.
Let’s check out some promotion ideas open to you once you distribute your music to Spotify.
1. Sell merch on your artist profile
Spotify has a surprisingly good platform for selling merch—they’ve recently partnered with Shopify to make processing and managing merch sales even easier.
Of course, making sure your artist profile is up to date regularly with new playlists, photos, music, and merch will help with getting more eyes on your profile.
Don’t forget to add your Spotify profile link to your social media profiles too!
2. Promote concert tickets
On top of selling merch, Spotify has an ideal feature that helps you keep your fans updated with any of your touring plans.
When you have an upcoming date, even if it’s a local one at the bar around the corner, don’t be shy about sharing it on your artist profile.
Playing shows is a tried and true way to build your fan base and achieve exposure. And you ought to be promoting your shows on every possible avenue available to you.
3. Get on a legitimate playlist
While you need to be wary of sketchy pay-for-play schemes, legitimate playlists like the ones curated by Spotify itself or any playlist that curates handpicked artists is an excellent great way to connect with wider audiences.
Don’t be shy about submitting your tracks to other reputable media organizations that curate artist playlists on Spotify too. There are loads of magazines, websites, and brands that have excellent playlists on the platform.
Concentrate on the big picture
And don’t get discouraged by your Spotify royalties. There are many methods to promote your music, grow your following, and monetize your fan base.
Keep in mind why you got into making music in the first place. You’re keen on writing and creating tracks for your followers.
Concentrate on that! And massive opportunities will come your way.