Subscribe
Music News

Spotify pays out $10billion to music industry in 2024

In 2014, the music industry reached a low point when global recorded music revenues hit $13billion. Spotify’s annual contribution at the time was around $1billion, with around 15 million paying subscribers.

In 2024, Spotify alone paid out a record $10billion to the music industry - totalling nearly $60billion since its founding. For a lot of people, those numbers might go in one ear and out the other, and they’d perhaps ask why Spotify keeps shouting about it. Spotify says it’s because the system is working.

Today, there are more than 500 million paying listeners across all music streaming services. A world with 1 billion paying listeners is a realistic goal it aims to collectively set.

There’s a vibrant marketplace of streaming services for different types of consumers, each doing its part to normalise the behaviour of paying for music streaming. It’s been a collective effort. But Spotify claims there are a few things specific to its platform that not only make it the most popular subscription streaming service, but also the highest paying.

Retention is priority number one, which it says is driven by personalisation, curation and product innovation. Reportedly, Spotify fans enjoy the recommendations, the expert editorial curation, and surprise-and-delight moments like AI DJ, daylist, and Wrapped, as well as the access to non-music content. Spotify indicated that this is why its users keep coming back, discovering more new artists, and retaining their subscriptions.

“I recently read a data point from economist Will Page, that said more music is released in a single day than there was in the entirety of 1989,” explained David Kaefer, VP of music business at Spotify. “In the pre-streaming era, you were either in the club or not. If you didn’t have a label deal or the means to distribute your music worldwide, you weren’t one of the few thousand artists on shelves at a record store or one of the 40 in rotation on a radio station.”

Spotify reports that well over 10,000 artists generate over $100,000 per year from Spotify alone.

“Now, you can record something today and have it on Spotify tomorrow. Everyone’s invited. Even better, payments to the music industry have shifted from a concentrated few at the top to an increasingly diverse and growing ecosystem of artists finding success” he continued.

Spotify estimates that, in 2014, around 10,000 artists generated at least $10,000 per year on its platform. Today it reports that well over 10,000 artists generate over $100,000 per year from Spotify alone.

The 2024 IFPI report indicated that Spotify contributes roughly a third of global recorded streaming revenue. But a recent comprehensive study of independent labels and distributors from MIDiA Research showed that Spotify represents more than half of indies’ streaming revenue, reportedly indicating that Spotify’s model is uniquely enabling more room for more artists to find success and ultimately sustain a career in music and demonstrating real change across the music business.

The global value of music copyright today sits at $45.5 billion.

“Without a doubt, this has been a decade of unparalleled transformation,” stated Kaefer.

“Our goal is to help artists get their work in front of existing and future fans, continue to innovate on their behalf, and deliver it in a way that inspires people to pay for it. Onboarding people to paid streaming is precisely what has increased our payouts—tenfold—over the past decade.”

Spotify reiterates that reaching 1 billion paid subscribers across all streaming services will be a collaborative effort, requiring innovation, strategic partnerships, and a continued focus on delivering exceptional value to music fans worldwide.

“It’s a goal we’re confident we can achieve together,” ends Kaefer.