Prime Highlights:
Nearly 1,500 artists earned over $1 million in royalties from Spotify in 2024, according to the company’s annual Loud and Clear report.
Artists achieving $1 million in royalties typically had 4-5 million monthly listeners or 20-25 million monthly streams.
Key Background:
Spotify has revealed that in 2024, nearly 1,500 artists earned over $1 million in royalties from the streaming platform, as outlined in the company’s annual Loud and Clear report. This milestone highlights Spotify’s role in helping a diverse range of artists thrive in the digital streaming era. Notably, over 80% of these artists did not have a song appear on the app’s Global Daily Top 50 Chart, proving that success on Spotify is not limited to chart-topping hits.
To achieve the $1 million threshold, artists typically need around four to five million monthly listeners or between 20 million to 25 million streams. This achievement reflects the growing opportunities for artists to earn substantial revenue on the platform, regardless of mainstream popularity. Spotify emphasized in the report that the streaming model has leveled the playing field, offering significant earnings potential for both emerging and established artists alike.
The report also revealed a sharp rise in the number of artists earning substantial royalties. Specifically, the number of artists who earned more than $10 million in royalties surged by 600% since 2017, with 70 artists reaching this milestone in 2024. This growth indicates the evolving nature of music consumption, where revenue is more accessible than ever for artists of various genres and fan bases.
In total, Spotify paid an all-time high of $10 billion in royalties in 2024, a figure the company claims surpasses the annual contributions of any single retailer and is over ten times the royalties generated by the largest record store during the peak of the CD era. This remarkable payment underscores Spotify’s continued impact on the global music industry, as the company celebrates its first full year of profitability following a successful fourth-quarter earnings report.
