Spotify has released its annual Loud & Clear report, revealing that the streaming giant paid out a record-breaking $10 billion to the music industry in 2024.
This figure, the highest ever disbursed by a single company in one year, brings Spotify’s total royalty payments to approximately $60 billion since its inception.
Despite these commendable payouts, artists are unsatisfied, and demanding fair compensation, particularly independent musicians.
Music streaming is growing, with over 500 million paying subscribers globally. Spotify’s report reveals a huge increase in the number of artists earning substantial royalties.
In 2024, nearly 1,500 artists made over $1 million from the platform, with more than 12,500 generating at least $100,000. Importantly, nearly a quarter of those earning six figures had not been professionally releasing music just five years ago, ascertaining how streaming has improved artist success.
Spotify also emphasised the platform’s global reach. More than half of the artists earning at least $1,000 in royalties made most of their revenue from outside their home countries.
At the $100,000 level, this international influence was even more pronounced, with over 80% of these artists collaborating with musicians from other nations. The diversity of music has also grown, with artists generating at least $1 million recording songs in 17 different languages, more than double the number from 2017.
Women in Music and Independent Artist Success
Female artists have seen an outstanding increase in earnings, with those making over $1 million quadrupling since 2017. Countries like Canada, South Korea, Sweden, and Argentina have particularly strong female representation among top-earning musicians.
Independent artists and labels have also benefited, collectively earning more than $5 billion from Spotify in 2024—accounting for roughly half of all royalties paid out by the platform.
Spotify points to this as evidence that musicians no longer need major-label backing to succeed in the streaming era.
Artists’ Complaint and Call for Fairer Compensation
Even with Spotify’s record-breaking payouts, the company is still at the centre of debates over fair artist compensation.
Earlier this year, Grammy-nominated songwriters boycotted Spotify’s Songwriter of the Year Grammy party, pointing to reduced royalties. A new policy change by the platform is estimated to cost songwriters around $150 million annually.
Again, a report from Duetti found that Spotify pays artists an average of $3.00 per 1,000 streams, significantly lower than Apple Music ($8.80), Amazon Music ($6.20), and YouTube ($4.80).
Spotify has dismissed these findings, stating that “these claims are ridiculous and unfounded,” and reaffirming that “no streaming service pays per stream.”
The company maintains that royalties are distributed based on streamshare—the proportion of total streams an artist receives—rather than a fixed per-stream rate.
The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) is pushing for regulatory changes. Last year, U.S. lawmakers introduced the Living Wage for Musicians Act, which aims to increase streaming royalties to one cent per stream.
UMAW remains vocal in its objection to Spotify, stating, “It’s easy to calculate what Spotify pays directly to recording artists: $0. There is no direct payment to recording artists by Spotify, because the company claims its manner of streaming falls under no existing regulation or requirement for direct payments to musicians.”
Spotify argues that its platform has created more opportunities for artists worldwide, pointing to the tripling number of musicians earning between $1,000 and $10 million annually since 2017.
The company also notes that success is no longer tied to mainstream charts, with 80% of its top-earning artists never appearing on the Global Daily Top 50.
