Ända sedan Spotify grundades har vi arbetat hårt för att öka betalningsviljan för musik. Det gick inte över en natt men idag är det fler än 500 miljoner användare världen över som betalar för en musikstreamingtjänst. Tack vare fler betalande användare har Spotify år efter år kunnat öka sina utbetalningar – och bidra till en allt mer välmående svensk musikbransch där fler artister kan leva på sin musik.
Enligt Ifpi uppgick den totala musikförsäljningen i Sverige till hela 2,2 miljarder kr i 2024, vilket var en ökning med 6 procent jämfört med föregående år. Tillväxten drevs i huvudsak av prenumerations- och reklamfinansierad ljudstreaming. Intäkterna från streaming stod för 94 procent av musikförsäljningen och gick upp med 7 procent bara från föregående år. Denna tillväxt återspeglas också i Spotifys utbetalningar. Under 2024 genererade svenska artister över 1,9 miljarder kronor i royalties enbart från Spotify jämfört med knappt 1,8 miljarder 2023 – nästan en fördubbling jämfört med 2018.
Precis som förra året genererades hälften av utbetalningarna av indieartister eller oberoende skivbolag. Vidare kom 65 procent av utbetalningarna från streams utanför Sverige, en ökning från 60 procent under 2023, vilket understryker att svensk musikexport är fortsatt framgångsrik.
Spotify acaba de presentarel informe Loud & Clearde este año, una mirada transparente a cómo la economía del streaming sigue apoyando a los artistas y alimentando el crecimiento explosivo de la industria musical. Loud & Clear es una iniciativa anual que busca desmitificar cómo los artistas generan ingresos a través del streaming, aclarar la distribución de regalías y resaltar el panorama musical global que está en constante evolución. El informe más reciente destaca ingresos récord, una mayor diversidad de artistas y una industria musical más globalizada que nunca.
Una industria en auge
Los servicios de streaming musical ahora cuentan con más de 500 millones de suscriptores de pago en todo el mundo (según IFPI), y un futuro con mil millones de oyentes de pago está cada vez más cerca. En 2024, sólo Spotify pagó $10 mil millones de dólares a la industria musical, más que cualquier una única empresa en un solo año. ¿La mejor noticia? Este aumento en los pagos está beneficiando a artistas de todos los niveles.
Rompiendo fronteras y ampliando la representación
El crecimiento de la industria musical no es solo financiero, sino también cultural. Cada vez más artistas están alcanzando el éxito fuera de sus países de origen, con más idiomas y voces diversas llegando al mainstream. En 2024, los artistas que generaron al menos $100,000 dólares en regalías grabaron música en más de 50 idiomas, mientras que los artistas que generaron al menos $1 millón de dólares en Spotify lo hicieron en 17 idiomas diferentes, más del doble de los idiomas presentes en estos niveles en 2017.
Las mujeres también están logrando avances históricos en Spotify. El número de artistas femeninas que generan más de $1 millón de dólares al año se ha cuadruplicado desde 2017. En mercados como Canadá, Corea del Sur, Suecia y Argentina, la representación femenina entre los principales artistas es particularmente fuerte.
El factor exportación: el fandom global impulsa el éxito de los artistas
Hoy en día, los artistas ya no dependen únicamente de sus mercados locales. Más del 50% de los artistas que generaron al menos $1,000 dólares en regalías en Spotify en 2024 obtuvieron la mayor parte de sus ingresos de oyentes fuera de su país de origen. Esto demuestra el papel clave que juega la exportación en el éxito y la sostenibilidad de una carrera musical.
Alrededor de un tercio de estos artistas obtuvieron más del 75% de sus regalías de fuera de su país, mostrando el poder del streaming global para impulsar los ingresos de los artistas. Y en el nivel de los $100,000 dólares, las conexiones internacionales son aún más profundas: más del 80% de estos artistas han colaborado con músicos de otros países.
Más artistas, más éxito
Spotify ha ayudado a democratizar la industria musical para artistas en todas las etapas de sus carreras. Desde 2017, el número de artistas que generan entre $1,000 y $10 millones de dólares anualmente se ha triplicado.
Un dato clave: casi una cuarta parte de los 12,500 artistas que generaron más de $100,000 dólares en 2024 no estaban lanzando música profesionalmente hace cinco años.
El éxito en la era del streaming ya no depende de un catálogo de décadas ni de un hit número uno en las listas.
Más del 80% de los artistas con mayores ingresos en Spotify ni siquiera aparecen en el Global Daily Top 50, lo que demuestra que los músicos independientes y los géneros de nicho pueden prosperar en la nueva economía del streaming. Mientras tanto, en 2024, los artistas y sellos independientes generaron colectivamente más de $5 mil millones de dólares en Spotify, representando aproximadamente la mitad del total de regalías de Spotify por otro año.
Regalías récord e impacto en la industria
Spotify sigue liderando la industria musical en pagos de regalías, con más de $10 mil millones de dólares distribuidos en 2024, multiplicando por diez los pagos en los últimos diez años. Desde su creación, la compañía ha pagado aproximadamente $60 mil millones de dólares en regalías.
Los pagos a los editores y compositores también han alcanzado nuevos picos, superando los $4.5 mil millones de dólares en los últimos dos años, con un crecimiento de dos dígitos sólo entre 2023 y 2024.
El futuro: los fans impulsan la evolución de la música
El futuro de la música está siendo moldeado por su fuerza más apasionada: los fans. A medida que continúan apoyando a los artistas a través de plataformas de streaming, surgirán nuevas oportunidades de innovación, colaboración y expresión creativa.
Con un acceso global a sonidos y culturas más diverso que nunca, los artistas seguirán rompiendo barreras y los fans jugarán un papel aún más importante en definir la próxima era de la música. La industria no solo está creciendo, sino que está evolucionando hacia un ecosistema donde oyentes y creadores prosperan juntos.
O Spotify acaba de lançar o relatório Loud & Clear deste ano, uma visão transparente de como a economia do streaming continua apoiando artistas e impulsionando o crescimento explosivo da indústria musical. Loud & Clear é uma iniciativa anual que busca desmistificar como os artistas ganham dinheiro com o streaming, esclarecer a distribuição de royalties e destacar o cenário musical global em constante evolução. O relatório mais recente enfatiza receitas recordes, maior diversidade de artistas e uma indústria musical sem fronteiras do que nunca.
Uma indústria em expansão
Os serviços de streaming musical agora contam com mais de 500 milhões de assinantes pagantes em todo o mundo (segundo a IFPI), e um futuro com um bilhão de ouvintes pagantes está cada vez mais próximo. Em 2024, apenas o Spotify pagou US$ 10 bilhões para a indústria da música – mais do que qualquer outra empresa já contribuiu em um único ano. A melhor notícia? Esse aumento nos pagamentos está beneficiando artistas de todos os níveis.
Rompendo fronteiras e ampliando a representatividade
O crescimento da indústria musical não é apenas financeiro, mas também cultural. Cada vez mais artistas estão conquistando sucesso além de seus países de origem, com mais idiomas e vozes diversas chegando ao mainstream. Em 2024, os artistas que geraram pelo menos US$ 100.000 em royalties gravaram músicas em mais de 50 idiomas, enquanto os artistas que geraram pelo menos US$ 1 milhão no Spotify gravaram músicas em 17 idiomas diferentes – mais do que o dobro dos idiomas presentes nesses níveis em 2017.
As mulheres também estão conquistando avanços históricos no Spotify. O número de artistas femininas que geram mais de US$ 1 milhão anualmente quadruplicou desde 2017. Mercados como Canadá, Coreia do Sul, Suécia e Argentina têm uma forte representatividade feminina entre seus artistas de maior sucesso.
O fator exportação: o fandom global impulsiona o sucesso dos artistas
Hoje, os artistas não estão mais limitados aos seus mercados locais. Mais de 50% dos artistas que geraram pelo menos US$ 1.000 em royalties no Spotify em 2024 obtiveram a maior parte de seus ganhos de ouvintes fora de seus países de origem. Isso demonstra o papel fundamental que a exportação desempenha no sucesso e na sustentabilidade da carreira de um artista. Cerca de um terço desses artistas tiveram mais de 75% de seus royalties vindos de fora de seus países, mostrando como o streaming global pode impulsionar a renda dos artistas. E no nível de US$ 100.000, as conexões internacionais são ainda mais profundas: mais de 80% desses artistas colaboraram com músicos de outros países.
Mais artistas, mais sucesso
O Spotify ajudou a democratizar a indústria musical para artistas em todos os estágios de suas carreiras. Desde 2017, o número de artistas que geram entre US$ 1.000 e US$ 10 milhões anualmente triplicou.
Um dado importante: quase um quarto dos 12.500 artistas que geraram mais de US$ 100.000 em 2024 nem sequer lançavam música profissionalmente cinco anos atrás.
O sucesso na era do streaming não exige um catálogo de décadas nem um hit no topo das paradas.
Mais de 80% dos artistas que mais geraram royalties no Spotify nem sequer apareceram no Global Daily Top 50, provando que músicos independentes e gêneros de nicho podem prosperar na nova economia do streaming. Enquanto isso, em 2024, artistas e gravadoras independentes geraram coletivamente mais de US$5 bilhões de dólares no Spotify, representando cerca de metade do total de royalties do Spotify por mais um ano.
Royalties recordes e impacto na indústria
O Spotify continua a liderar a indústria musical em pagamentos de royalties, com mais de US$ 10 bilhões distribuídos em 2024, multiplicando os pagamentos por dez nos últimos dez anos. Desde sua fundação, a empresa já pagou aproximadamente US$ 60 bilhões em royalties.
Os pagamentos a editores e compositores também atingiram novos recordes, ultrapassando US$ 4,5 bilhões nos últimos dois anos – com crescimento percentual de dois dígitos entre 2023 e 2024.
O que vem a seguir: os fãs moldando o futuro da música
O futuro da música está sendo moldado por sua força mais apaixonada: os fãs. À medida que continuam apoiando os artistas por meio das plataformas de streaming, surgirão novas oportunidades para inovação, colaboração e expressão criativa.
Com um acesso global a sons e culturas mais diversificado do que nunca, os artistas continuarão ultrapassando limites, e os fãs terão um papel ainda mais importante na definição da próxima era da música. A indústria não está apenas crescendo – ela está evoluindo para um ecossistema onde ouvintes e criadores prosperam juntos.
Spotify has just unveiled this year’s Loud & Clear report, a transparent look at how the streaming economy continues to support artists and fuel the music industry’s explosive growth. Loud & Clear is an annual initiative to demystify how artists earn money through streaming, clarify royalty distribution, and highlight the growing and evolving global music landscape. The latest report underscores record-breaking revenues, increased artist diversity, and a more borderless music industry than ever before.
A booming industry
Music streaming services now boast more than 500 million paying subscribers worldwide (IFPI), and a future with one billion paying listeners is within reach. In 2024, Spotify alone paid out $10 billion to the music industry—more than any single company has ever contributed in one year. The best news? This surge in payouts is increasing payouts for artists at all levels.
Breaking borders and expanding representation
The music industry’s growth isn’t just financial—it’s cultural. More artists are succeeding across borders, with more languages and diverse voices breaking into the mainstream. In 2024, the artists who generated at least $100K in royalties were recording music in more than 50 languages, while the artists who generated at least $1 million on Spotify recorded music in 17 different languages, both more than double the languages at those thresholds in 2017.
Women are also making historic gains on Spotify. Female artists generating more than $1 million annually have quadrupled since 2017. Markets like Canada, South Korea, Sweden, and Argentina see particularly strong female representation amongst their top artists.
The export factor: global fandom fuels artist success
Artists today are no longer bound by their home markets. Over 50% of the artists who generated at least $1K in royalties on Spotify in 2024 made the majority of their earnings from listeners outside their home country. This demonstrates the pivotal role that export plays in the success and sustainability of an artist’s career. Around one-third of them saw more than 75% of their royalties come from outside their home countries, showing the power of global streaming in driving artist income. And at the $100,000 level, the connections run even deeper—over 80% of these artists have teamed up with musicians from abroad.
More artists, more success
Spotify has helped level the playing field for artists at every stage of their careers. Since 2017, the number of artists generating between $1,000 and $10 million annually has tripled. Notably, nearly a quarter of the 12,500 artists generating over $100,000 in 2024 weren’t even releasing music professionally five years ago.
Success in the streaming era doesn’t require a decade-spanning catalog nor a chart-topping hit.
More than 80% of Spotify’s top-royalty generating artists weren’t even featured in its Global Daily Top 50, proving that independent musicians and niche genres can thrive in the new streaming economy. Meanwhile, in 2024, independent artists and labels collectively generated more than $5 billion from Spotify — representing about half of total Spotify royalties for another year.
Record-breaking royalties and industry impact
Spotify continues to lead the music industry in payouts, with more than $10 billion distributed in music royalties in 2024 alone—increasing payouts tenfold over the past ten years. The company has now paid out around $60 billion since its inception. Music publishing payouts have also hit new peaks, surpassing $4.5 billion to songwriters and publishing rights holders in just the past two years – with double-digit percentage growth from 2023 to 2024 alone.
What’s next: fans driving the future of music
The future of music is being shaped by its most passionate force: fans. New opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and creative expression will emerge as they continue to embrace and support artists across streaming platforms. With global access to diverse sounds and cultures stronger than ever, artists will keep pushing boundaries, and fans will play an even more significant role in shaping the next era of music. The industry is not just growing, it’s evolving into an ecosystem where listeners and creators thrive together.
Around the world, the shift toward streaming has completely transformed the music industry, and Spotify has led that charge. That includes in Australia, where Spotify is helping artists grow their revenues and audiences in big ways. Just ask Tones And I, the busker turned international pop star.
On June 24, Tones And I joined Spotify’s Loud & Clear event at Australia’s Parliament House in Canberra to celebrate the growth of the country’s music industry, as well as the discoverability and global stage presence of Australian artists. Tones delivered a surprise performance for attendees including Minister for the Arts The Hon Tony Burke MP, representatives from Music Australia (a dedicated body to support and invest in the Australian contemporary music industry), and members of Parliament. The showcase included a stripped-back version of her 2019 smash hit, “Dance Monkey,” which reached 3 billion streams on Spotify earlier this year—making her the first woman to reach that milestone for a single track.
Med sin årliga royaltyrapport Loud & Clear ökar Spotify transparensen i musikindustrin, så att artister, låtskrivare, fans och hela musikbranschen får en större förståelse för hur streamingekonomin fungerar. Spotify betalar ungefär två tredjedelar av sina musikrelaterade intäkter till rättighetsinnehavare och publishers, och nyligen redovisades att Spotifys globala utbetalningar under 2023 uppgick till över nio miljarder dollar. Men hur såg det ut i Sverige?
Under förra året genererade svenska artister utbetalningar på nästan 1,8 miljarder kronor enbart från Spotify – en ökning med drygt tolv procent jämfört med 2022 och en dubblering jämfört med 2017.
Statistiken visar även att musikbranschen fortsätter att blomstra – på alla nivåer. Under 2023 genererade fler än 500 svenska artister minst 500 000 kronor i royalties bara från Spotify. Antalet artister som når denna nivå har ökat med 70 procent sedan 2017. Dessutom genererade över 280 svenska artister mer än en miljon kronor från plattformen, vilket innebär en ökning med nästan två tredjedelar sedan 2018.
För första gången redovisar Spotify också att oberoende skivbolag och artister genererar nästan hälften av utbetalningarna, i Sverige såväl som globalt.
Sverige är en erkänd musikexportnation, men svenska artister dominerar även på hemmaplan, vilket kraftigt bidrar till ökade intäkter till den svenska musikindustrin. Under 2023 stod inhemska artister bakom 70 procent av alla låtar som tog sig in på den dagliga Topp 50-listan.
Spotifys rekordutbetalningar
Svenska artister genererade under 2023 större utbetalningar än någonsin tidigare, vilket bidrar till att den svenska musikbranschen växer.
Ett rekordår för indiebolag och indieartister
Fler artister väljer att publicera sin egen musik på Spotify vilket ledde till att de oberoende skivbolagens andel av utbetalningarna förra året uppgick till nästan 50 procent.
Fler artister genererar stora utbetalningar
Spotifys utbetalningar hjälper såväl etablerade som aspirerande artister att utveckla sina karriärer och nå sina fans.
Så fungerar Spotifys royaltyutbetalningar:
Spotify betalar ut ungefär två tredjedelar av sina musikrelaterade intäkter till rättighetsinnehavare och publishers, som i sin tur betalar artister och låtskrivare baserat på deras enskilda kontrakt.
Utbetalningar från Spotify utgör endast en del av intäkterna för skivbolag, låtskrivare och artister; övriga källor inkluderar bland annat utbetalningar från andra streamingtjänster, skivförsäljning, försäljning av merchandise och biljetter till konserter.
Spotify pense que les artistes méritent de la clarté en matière d’économie du streaming musical. C’est pourquoi la plateforme publie chaque année des données montrant son impact sur l’industrie. Ces informations se trouvent sur Loud & Clear, une ressource destinée aux artistes et aux professionnels de l’industrie, qui analyse l’économie mondiale du streaming, les acteurs et le processus.
Aujourd’hui, Spotify a dévoilé les données mises à jour sur Loud & Clear, y compris des chiffres de 2023 qui montrent de nouveaux progrès significatifs vers une industrie musicale plus diversifiée et plus équitable.
Dans une vue d’ensemble, le streaming a continué à créer plus d’espace pour que davantage d’artistes réussissent, démontrant un réel changement dans l’ensemble du secteur.
Les dernières données montrent que l’industrie n’a jamais été aussi peu dominée par les stars, avec plus de petits artistes ayant voix au chapitre et la possibilité de gagner de l’argent grâce à leur art. L’année dernière, Spotify a mis la barre très haute, enregistrant le versement annuel le plus élevé à l’industrie musicale de la part d’un seul distributeur. Et pour la toute première fois, le catalogue des artistes indépendants et des artistes signés chez des labels indépendants a représenté environ la moitié de ce que l’ensemble de l’industrie a généré sur Spotify en 2023.
Voici les points forts de notre rapport annuel sur l’économie de la musique.
Paiements record de Spotify
Ces versements ont permis aux ayants droit, agissant au nom des artistes et des compositeurs, d’enregistrer des revenus et une croissance record.
Plus d’argent à tous les niveaux
Les redevances Spotify contribuent au développement des artistes à tous les niveaux de leur carrière. En effet, les chiffres communiqués ne comptabilisent que les revenus générés par la plateforme. En réalité, les artistes peuvent potentiellement générer 4 fois plus de revenus grâce aux sources d’enregistrement musical en général, auxquels s’ajoutent les revenus des concerts et du merchandising.
Une année record pour les indépendants
En fait, il s’agit du montant le plus élevé jamais généré par les indépendants auprès d’un seul distributeur en un an, ce qui représente une multiplication par 4 depuis 2017.
Les millionnaires inattendus
À l’ère du streaming, les classements ne sont plus assez représentatifs de tous les artistes qui connaissent le succès. La diversification grandissantes des goûts musicaux des utilisateurs, couplée à une augmentation des redevances a pour résultat un accroissement des revenus pour un panel d’artistes toujours plus varié.
La croissance de carrière des artistes
Les carrières des artistes ne font pas que commencer sur Spotify, elles grandissent sur Spotify. Nous restons engagés à aider les artistes émergents et professionnels à vivre durablement de leur travail, année après année.
Pour en savoir plus sur nos principaux résultats, ainsi que sur le contexte de l’industrie en général, des rapports supplémentaires et des FAQ, rendez-vous sur Loud & Clear.
En Spotify, creemos que los artistas merecen claridad cuando se trata de la economía del streaming musical, por eso cada año publicamos datos que muestran nuestro impacto en la industria. Esa información se encuentra en Loud & Clear, nuestro recurso para artistas y profesionales de la industria que desglosa la economía global del streaming, los actores involucrados y el proceso.
Hoy, presentamos información y datos nuevas y actualizados en Loud & Clear, incluyendo cifras del 2023 que muestran un progreso significativo hacia una industria musical más diversa y equitativa. ¿Y cuál es el panorama general? El streaming ha seguido creando más espacio para que más artistas encuentren éxito, demostrando un cambio real en toda la industria.
Los últimos datos muestran que la industria está menos concentrada que nunca, con más artistas teniendo un verdadero lugar en la mesa y con capacidad de ganar dinero con su arte. El año pasado, Spotify elevó el listón, registrando el pago anual más alto a la industria musical por parte de cualquier minorista único. Y por primera vez, el catálogo de artistas independientes y aquellos firmados con sellos discográficos independientes representaron aproximadamente la mitad de lo que generó toda la industria en Spotify en 2023.
Aquí están los aspectos más destacados de nuestro informe anual de economía musical.
Pagos Récord de Spotify
Estos pagos han resultado en ingresos récord y crecimiento para los titulares de derechos en nombre de artistas y compositores.
Más Dinero a Todos los Niveles
Las regalías de Spotify están impulsando las carreras de los artistas en todas las etapas. Y estas cifras sólo representan los ingresos generados por Spotify. Es probable que los artistas generaran 4 veces estos ingresos de todas las fuentes de música grabada en general, además de ingresos adicionales por entradas de conciertos y merchandising.
Un Año Récord para las Indies
De hecho, esta es la cantidad más alta que las independientes hayan generado jamás a partir de un solo minorista en un año y representa un aumento de 4 veces desde 2017.
Los Millonarios Inesperados
En la era del streaming, los charts no son lo suficientemente grandes como para mostrar a todos los artistas que están teniendo éxito. Los gustos de los fans son más diversos y una mayor cantidad de regalías significa más ingresos para una gama más amplia de artistas.
For more of our top findings, as well as context from the industry at large, additional reports, and FAQs, head to Loud & Clear.
Crecimiento de las Carreras de los Artistas
Las carreras no sólo comienzan en Spotify, sino que crecen en Spotify. Seguimos comprometidos con apoyar a los artistas emergentes y profesionales a ganarse la vida de manera sostenida con su trabajo año tras año.
Para obtener más información sobre nuestros principales hallazgos, así como contexto de la industria en general, informes adicionales y preguntas frecuentes, dirígete a Loud & Clear.
No Spotify, acreditamos que os artistas merecem clareza no que diz respeito à economia do streaming de música – é por isso que publicamos dados que mostram o nosso impacto na indústria todos os anos. Essas informações estão no Loud & Clear, nosso relatório para artistas e profissionais da indústria que detalha a economia global do streaming, as partes envolvidas e os processos.
Hoje, divulgamos informações e dados novos e atualizados de Loud & Clear, incluindo números de 2023 que mostram progressos adicionais significativos em direção a uma indústria musical mais diversa e equilibrada. O panorama geral? O streaming continuou a criar mais espaço para mais artistas alcançarem o sucesso, demonstrando uma mudança real em todo o negócio.
Os dados mais recentes mostram que a indústria está menos concentrada do que nunca, com mais artistas tendo protagonismo e capacidade de viver da sua arte. No ano passado, o Spotify registrou o maior pagamento anual à indústria da música. E, pela primeira vez, o catálogo de artistas independentes e artistas assinados com gravadoras independentes representou cerca de metade do que toda a indústria gerou no Spotify em 2023.
Aqui estão os destaques do nosso relatório anual de economia da música.
Pagamentos recordes do Spotify
Esses pagamentos resultaram em receitas e crescimento recordes para os detentores de direitos em nome de artistas e compositores.
Mais dinheiro em todos os níveis
Os royalties do Spotify estão impulsionando a carreira de artistas em todos os estágios. E esses números representam apenas a receita gerada pelo Spotify. É provável que os artistas tenham gerado 4x essa receita de fontes de música registradas em geral, além da receita adicional com ingressos para shows e produtos.
Um ano recorde para artistas independentes
Na verdade, esse é o valor mais alto que artistas independentes já geraram em um único varejista em um ano e representa um aumento de 4x desde 2017.
Os milionários inesperados
Na era do streaming, os charts não são grandes o suficiente para mostrar todos os artistas que estão fazendo sucesso. O gosto dos fãs é mais diversificado e um conjunto de royalties maior significa mais receita para uma gama mais ampla de artistas.
Crescimento na carreira artística
As carreiras não apenas começam no Spotify, elas crescem no Spotify. Continuamos comprometidos em ajudar artistas emergentes e profissionais a viverem de seu trabalho, ano após ano.
Para saber mais sobre nossos principais resultados, bem como o contexto da indústria em geral, relatórios adicionais e FAQs, acesse Loud & Clear.
At Spotify, we believe that artists deserve clarity when it comes to the economics of music streaming—that’s why we publish data showing our impact on the industry every year. That information lives on Loud & Clear, our resource for artists and industry professionals that breaks down the global streaming economy, the players, and the process.
Today, we unveiled new and updated information and data on Loud & Clear, including figures from 2023 that show further meaningful progress toward a more diverse and level music industry. The big picture? Streaming has continued to create more room for more artists to find success, demonstrating real change across the business.
The latest data shows that the industry is less top-heavy than ever, with more artists having a true seat at the table and the ability to make money from their art. Last year Spotify raised the bar, recording the highest annual payment to the music industry from any single retailer. And for the first year ever, the catalog of DIY artists and artists signed to independent record labels accounted for about half of what the entire industry generated on Spotify in 2023.
Here are the highlights from our annual music economics report.
Spotify’s Record Payouts
These payouts have resulted in record revenues and growth for rights holders on behalf of artists and songwriters.
More Money at Every Level
Spotify royalties are powering artists’ careers at all stages. And these figures only represent revenue generated from Spotify. Artists likely generated 4x this revenue from recorded music sources overall, plus additional revenue from concert tickets and merch.
A Record Year for Indies
In fact, this is the highest amount indies have ever generated from a single retailer in one year and represents a 4x increase since 2017.
The Unexpected Millionaires
In the streaming era, the charts aren’t big enough to showcase all the artists who are finding success. Fans’ tastes are more diverse, and a bigger royalty pool means more revenue for a wider range of artists.
Artist Career Growth
Careers don’t just begin on Spotify, they grow on Spotify. We remain committed to helping emerging and professional artists make a sustained living off their work year after year.
For more of our top findings, as well as context from the industry at large, additional reports, and FAQs, head to Loud & Clear.
“Stream On is about all the ways we are bringing Spotify to life and letting creators at all stages of their careers know that we are open for business,” Spotify Founder and CEO Daniel Ek said. “We are focused on building the best home for them—a place where they can establish a career, thrive, and grow, and where the world can be inspired by their creativity. And that’s what we’ve been doing for almost 17 years: building, improving, and reimagining this home to better meet creator needs and help them chart new pathways to success.”
From new app functionality to a holistic one-stop shop for podcasting to more opportunities for artists to engage with their fans, Stream On further cements our commitment to the creative community.
“As we look to the future, we are excited to expand that ambition to even more creators across new formats. We’re enabling more creativity, discovery, and personalization than ever before by providing the best resources, support, and interactivity,” Daniel said.
Helping fans discover creators and artists
We’ve unveiled one of the biggest evolutions since Spotify’s inception: a new, dynamic interface on mobile built for deeper discovery and more meaningful connections between artists and fans.
With this new experience, we’re giving fans an even more active role in the audio discovery process, and giving creators even more space to share their work. Powered by advanced recommendations, new visual canvases, and a completely new and interactive design, the new interface is making discovering new audio easier than ever before and helping introduce users to their next favorite artist, podcast, or book. It’s all about closing the distance between creators and fans—and setting the stage for long-term, lasting connections that reach beyond viral success.
The new Spotify will roll out in waves to our 500 million+ monthly active users beginning today. Here’s what to expect:
Music, podcast, and audiobook previews across Music, Podcasts & Shows, and Audiobooks feeds for listeners to sample before they play or save. We’re also bringing “shortcuts” to the top of listeners’ feeds—giving users easy access to some of their recent and favorite listens.
New feeds for discovery on Searchthat will allow users to quickly and easily explore personalized, short Canvas clips from tracks across some of your favorite genres. Users can easily save the song to a playlist, follow the artist, or share it with friends, all from one place. Looking for something else? Explore related genres using the hashtag within the feed, all with the goal of making discovery even easier.
We’re also bringing this feature to popular playlists like Discover Weekly, Release Radar, New Music Friday, and RapCaviar, inviting users to preview tracks on a playlist before diving in.
Just like with music, we’re now serving Autoplay for Podcasts—when a podcast ends, another episode that fits the user’s tastes and is relevant will automatically start playing.
Smart Shuffle, the easiest way to breathe new life into custom curated playlists with just the tap of a button.
“Spotify recommendations drive close to half of all users’ streams. And when listeners decide to follow a creator, they listen to, on average, five times more of their music,” said GustavSöderström, Spotify Co-President and Chief Product & Technology Officer. “That’s why discoveries on Spotify—unlike many other platforms—give creators so much more than just a fleeting moment of viral fame. Those meaningful, long-term connections are a key part of what makes Spotify a platform for professional and aspiring artists.”
Supporting artist success through streaming
We also unveiled our annual music royalties report, Loud & Clear. The 2023 update demonstrates that more and more artists are finding success than ever before: The number of artists generating $1M+, as well as those generating $10,000+, has more than doubled over the past five years. Additionally, we estimate that the 50,000th highest-earning artist on Spotify generated more than $50,000 across all recorded revenue sources.
Loud & Clear also details how Spotify pays the vast majority of every dollar it generates for music—nearly 70%—back to the industry, and all-time Spotify payouts to music rights holders are approaching $40 billion.
Enabling audience development for artists through new and enhanced tools
We’re always building up our suite of tools to help artists find the fans who’ll love their music most. Here are a few of the new features they will soon find in the Campaigns section of Spotify for Artists:
Marqueeis a full-screen, sponsored recommendation of a new release that’s focused on reaching listeners who have shown interest in an artist’s music. On average, Marquee is 10 times more cost-effective at getting listeners to stream music on Spotify than ads are on the most popular social media platforms.
Discovery Mode is a tool through which artists and their teams identify priority songs, and Spotify will add that signal to the algorithms that shape personalized listening sessions. Today, Discovery Mode is directly available within Spotify for Artists, and is accessible to a wider range of artists and their teams, including thousands of independently distributed artists and labels.
Showcase is a mobile card on our brand-new home feed that will introduce an artist’s music—whether a new release or catalog—to likely listeners. We’re just starting to test Showcase with artists and labels, and will make it more widely available in the near future.
We also shared more details on the next revenue line we’ll enable to help artists grow: merchandise and live events.
New Concert and Merch Discovery tools will help make sure concertgoers never miss another show. Listeners will begin to see merch offers and concert listings in far more places across the app. If a show catches a fan’s eye, they can tap a new “interested” button to save the listing to their own calendar in the Live Events Feed. Users can adjust their location and browse concerts worldwide, all personalized to their taste.
Spotify is also expanding its Fans First program to include more artists, ensuring top listeners receive emails and notifications that give them special access to concert pre-sales and merch exclusives.
And we unveiled new features and product expansions that allow more artists to express themselves in new ways and build buzz among fans. These include:
Spotify Clips, which letsartists add 30-second videos to their artist profiles and album pages so fans can go deeper into their stories while they’re listening; and
CountdownPages, which provide dedicated space on an artist’s profile and Spotify’s Home feed for fans to pre-save albums, see exclusive videos, pre-order merch, preview tracklists, and watch the timer count down to a new release.
Reintroducing Spotify for Podcasters as our one-stop shop for creators
Podcast creators joined our executives onstage to showcase the reimagined Spotify for Podcasters.The site now brings together the best of Spotify’s podcast creator tools into a one-stop shop to create, manage, grow, and monetize podcast content, including:
Broader availability of Spotify-unique features like video podcasting, interactive episodes using Q&A and Polls, subscriptions, and robust analytics
Podcast previews, PodcastChapters, SpotifyLabs, and a new space for educational podcasting content
Megaphone, Spotify’s hosting solution for enterprise publishers, will be integrated into Spotify for Podcasters in the future. Netflix and Australia’s Schwartz Media werejust signed on as two of the latest publishers.
We also looked back at the growth of the Spotify Audience Network (SPAN), our audio-first marketplace that connects podcast publishers and independent creators with advertisers, including monthly payouts to opted-in publishers.
Since we launched SPAN in 2021, it has grown by nearly 50%. Advertiser participation has since increased by 500%.
The number of independent and enterprise podcasters taking part in SPAN has grown eightfold in the last two years, with NPR being the latest publisher to join the network.
We’re partnering with Patreon,which will enable creators to expand their creative business through direct payments from fans, and allow fans to listen to their Patreon content on Spotify.
Announcing new and expanded Spotify Originals and exclusives
Spotify Original and exclusive podcasts saw much success in 2022, with Case 63, The Joe Rogan Experience, and Call Her Daddy taking the top spots of the Wrapped top global podcasts. And now that Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain is exclusively on our platform, Spotify has four of the top five biggest hits worldwide.
We’re expanding our catalog with new shows, including The Riddler: Secrets in the Dark. This latest title follows the Batman Unburied series and its characters in a brand-new story led by Phantom 4 and filmmaker, novelist, and comic book writer DavidS. Goyer.
We’re also introducing more video podcasts, with Forbidden Fruits with Julia Fox and Niki Takesh returning for a second season and an exclusive video podcast edition of the show. Drew Afualo’s podcast, The Comment Section, is also coming to Spotify exclusively starting April 5.
We’ve also entered into an exclusive video partnership with Markiplier to produce exclusive video episodes of DistractibleandGo! My Favorite Sports Team for Spotify beginning today. And with innovative partnerships on the way from Collab, Creative Juice, Get Engaged Media, Golden Child, and Karat to bring their creators’ videos to Spotify, as well as limited video series exclusively available on Spotify from Mindset Mentor, we’re looking forward to introducing millions of new listeners to video podcasts.
Welcoming creators and artists “home” to Spotify
Immediately following the presentation, we opened the doors of our campus in Los Angeles’ Arts District to creators for our “Play On” event to demo new products, hold workshops with top industry creators, and share insider knowledge on how best to use Spotify from the people who helped develop the tools at the company. To close out the activities, we’ll be hosting an all-female showcase to celebrate International Women’s Day.
“Today, there are more than 10 million creators on Spotify, with over half a billion listeners across 184 countries and markets,” Daniel noted. “Think about the massive potential that represents for creators. No matter where you are on your own creative journey within music, podcasts, or audiobooks. The potential to reach half a billion people. And that reach is about to become more powerful with what we’ve introduced today.”
Watch the 10-minute recap of the entire event below.
Forward-Looking Statements
The discussion above contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking. For example, the words “will,” “expect,” “potential,” and similar words are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and management’s belief about future events and trends, and are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which may adversely affect our business and results of operations, including, but not limited to, our ability to attract and retain users and monetize our products and services; competition; risks associated with our international operations and growth; risks associated with our new products or services and our emphasis on long-term over short-term results; our ability to predict, recommend, and play content that our users enjoy; our ability to maintain the integrity of our technology structure and systems or the security of confidential information; and other risks as set forth in our filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
In 2021, Spotify launched Loud & Clear, a resource for artists and industry professionals that breaks down the royalty system, the players, and the process.
Today, we’re publishing new and updated information and data—and figures from 2021 that show further meaningful progress toward a healthier and more diverse music industry.
Read on for our top ten findings.
1. We paid music rights holders more money than ever in 2021: $7+ billion, up from $5+ billion in 2020. That’s more than double what we paid out in 2017 ($3.3 billion) and represents a big part of the $30 billion we’ve paid to rights holders since our founding. Even adjusting for inflation, that $7 billion total is the largest sum paid by one retailer to the music industry in one year in history—including any single retailer at the height of the CD or digital download era.
2. In 2021, recorded streaming revenue alone (across all services) was higher than the entire industry’s revenue from all forms of recorded music for each year from 2009 through 2016. When the music business hit its low point in 2014, it generated $14.2 billion from all parts of the recorded industry (streaming, physical sales, sync, downloads, performance rights). In 2021, recorded streaming revenue alone exceeded $16.9 billion—with Spotify leading the way.
3. We celebrated a new landmark this year with over 1,000 artists generating $1 million on Spotify alone. But when artists hit new heights, it’s time to launch additional milestones. New to the site in 2021, since so many artists have far surpassed the $1 million level, we’ve added $2 million and $5 million data. In 2021, 450 artists generated more than $2 million on Spotify—an increase of 110% in five years—and 130 artists generated over $5 million—an increase of 160% in the same period.
4. More artists are hitting milestones across all revenue levels, from $1,000 to $5 million, and the numbers are accelerating fast. The number of artists who achieved each of these milestones has doubled since 2017. And when taking into account earnings from other services and recorded revenue streams, these artists are likely to be generating 4x these amounts from recorded music overall. For the first time this year, a diverse group of more 500,000 artists—across different countries, genres, and career stages—generated $10,000 from Spotify and likely over $40,000 across all recorded revenue sources.
5. Over the past year, almost all of our music partners have reported record profit and growth for their artists. The three major music labels jointly brought in over $25 billion in revenue last year, with $12.5 billion coming from streaming recorded revenue alone. Spotify payments represent around a third of that streaming total. Major label profits in 2021 exceeded $4 billion—meaning more money to reinvest to grow the industry.
6. Songwriters and producers—through their publishing rights holders—are generating record revenues driven by streaming services. Publishing rights holders earned $3.5 billion from streaming overall in 2020, a sum that is more than publishing revenue from CDs and downloads any year in the 21st century so far, even during the peak of the CD era.
7. More artists are sharing in today’s thriving music economy than ever before. In the peak of the CD era, nearly 25% of U.S. album sales were accounted for by the top 50 artists. On Spotify in 2021, only 12% of U.S. streams were of the top 50 artists—meaning that revenue opportunities now reach far beyond the superstars.
8. Many artists use distributors like DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, or others to self-release their music on Spotify—and more than ever before, it paid off. Nearly a third (28%) of artists who reached $10,000 in earnings on Spotify released music through an artist distributor in 2021. These 15,150 artists represent a 171% increase since 2017.
9. Streaming has lowered the barriers to entry to music and accelerated the path to finding a global fan base—meaning artists can go from first single to first significant paycheck fast. Over 10% of artists (5,300) who generated more than $10,000 on Spotify in 2021 released their first songs ever in the last two years. In 2021, 350 of them generated $100,000 from Spotify alone.
10. Streaming revenue is bringing real scale to the music industries of emerging markets, making it increasingly possible to pursue a professional career as an artist in countries around the world. In 2021, Spotify launched in 80+ markets, introducing these artists to new fans in places all over the world. Of the 52,600 artists who generated more than $10,000 on Spotify in 2021, 34% live in countries outside the IFPI’s top ten music markets (Australia, Canada, China, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the U.K., and the U.S.).
We’re excited to see progress based on these numbers, but there’s plenty more to do. As our CEO, Daniel Ek,shared, “Music matters. To the world and to Spotify. It’s where we started and what continues to inspire us as we build the most valuable platform for artists. We’re nowhere near done.” Read more of Daniel’s letter on Loud & Clear, in addition to resources detailing the diverse voices represented on platform, context from the industry at large, and reports and FAQs.
Recent Comments