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.
Visit Loud & Clear by Spotify for a closer look at the economics of music streaming.
Europe Stories
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
08/05/2025
As expected, continued weak demand from key sales markets and declining economic...
08/05/2025
A new three-part series is coming to BBC iPlayer and BBC One
(Image: The Christie Archive Trust)
The BBC has announced Agatha Christie's Endless Night, a...
08/05/2025
08 May 2025
VEON Shareholders Re-elect Board at 2025 AGM, Founder Augie Fabela ...
08/05/2025
Comedy and entertainment channel U&Dave bring back their #1 ranked programme of ...
08/05/2025
Expect even more chaos this July with Harriet Webb leading the returning cast, p...
08/05/2025
TenneT relies on Arvato Systems for market communication
Energy industry: Impressive market communication know-how and system integration expertise
G tersloh...
08/05/2025
When Taiki Hamamoto, 22, came across a Hanafuda deck at his local game shop, he was intrigued. He had grown up playing the traditional Japanese card game with f...
08/05/2025
The Liveline is now open , said Joe Duffy earlier today, as he previewed this af...
08/05/2025
RT , in association with the BBC, Screen Ireland and Cineflix Rights has reveale...
07/05/2025
Discovering music should feel effortless and fun. That's why Spotify continu...
07/05/2025
FOX Doubles Down on the Laughs Renewing Comedies Animal Control, Starring Joel M...
07/05/2025
07 May 2025
VEON's QazCode Signs MoU with Seekr to Develop AI-Powered Solut...
07/05/2025
UKTV has ordered a feature length documentary celebrating the life of Britain...
07/05/2025
Wednesday 7 May 2025
Shaun the Sheep fans are in for a baaaarilliant treat in 2...
07/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz to highlight innovative broadcast technologies at CABSAT 2025 Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Br...
07/05/2025
The Importance of Workflow Efficiencies in Post-Production Wednesday, 14 May
14:40
FilmLight sits down with Sam Lempp, head of business development for Nara, ...
07/05/2025
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of RT journalist, Fergal O'Brien, as its new Business Correspondent.
In his new role, Fergal will be repor...
06/05/2025
In Colombia, music isn't just background noise-it's center stage. It'...
06/05/2025
En Colombia, la m sica no suena de fondo: es el centro del escenario. Es el cora...
06/05/2025
At Spotify, we always seek ways to connect users with their next favorite podcas...
06/05/2025
Since Spotify's 2019 launch in India, the growth of the country's local ...
06/05/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
06/05/2025
Comscore Reports First Quarter 2025 ResultsRESTON, Va., May 6, 2025 Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting and evaluating ...
06/05/2025
Live from Studio 1 at 7pm, Tuesday May 6
Iconic trad-fusion group K LA will be ...
06/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz hosts RF Testing Innovations Forum 2025, helping design engineer...
06/05/2025
LONDON, UK, May 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the company s annual THINK event, IBM (NYSE: IBM) is unveiling new hybrid technologies that break down the long...
06/05/2025
Apple today introduced Tap to Pay on iPhone in Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Switzerland, enabling millio...
06/05/2025
Ahead of Pride Month, Apple is introducing a new Apple Watch Pride Edition Sport Band, watch face, and iPhone and iPad wallpaper to celebrate the strength and b...
06/05/2025
First episode airs this Friday at 8pm on RT One and RT Player with Doireann N Ghlac in presenting
Guests include Barry Murphy, Brooke Scullion, Bryan Dobso...
05/05/2025
As Europe gears up for the Eurovision Song Contest 2025, Spotify is celebrating the spirit of unity and musical legacy with a new series of Spotify Singles. Fiv...
05/05/2025
As part of the restructuring of its loss-making Carbon Fibers business unit, SGL Carbon has decided to close its production site in Lavradio (Portugal). Lavradi...
05/05/2025
Comscore Launches Certified Deal IDs in Magnite's SSP, Bringing Trusted Cont...
02/05/2025
Updated May 2: In a victory for consumers, artists, creators, and authors, Apple...
02/05/2025
Since 2022, Spotify and FC Barcelona have brought the worlds of music and footba...
02/05/2025
With more than 678 million users worldwide tuned in to Spotify, we're at the heart of music and culture. Our unrivaled global community of artists, songwrit...
02/05/2025
Data Communications Company has announced its partnership with IBM to modernise ...
02/05/2025
Comscore at the 20th Annual Needham Technology, Media, & Consumer Conference RESTON, Va., May 2 2025: Comscore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, t...
02/05/2025
02 May 2025
VEON to release 1Q25 trading update on May 15, 2025 Dubai, May 2, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a global digital operator, today confirms that t...
02/05/2025
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2025 second quarter ended March 29, 2025. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $...
02/05/2025
Well-known faces pushed to their limits in Uncharted with Ray Goggins...
01/05/2025
As Tanzania approaches a pivotal election year marked by both promise and concern over the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on media, more than 300 journa...
01/05/2025
After four years of lectures, study sessions, exams, and parties, college senior...
01/05/2025
Prochazka knows the power of relationships, so it has always been important to him that ATEC Pro be renowned for more than just supplying great equipment. Becom...
01/05/2025
Munster and Connacht Football Finals onThe Sunday Game Live
Final two days of t...
01/05/2025
Voice actor and producer Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff shares his first impressions of the DPA 2017 Shotgun Microphone, from real-world auditions to side-by-side compa...
01/05/2025
With my previous console, Freeman recalls, I always had to run a Waves server for EQ and compression, but when I switched to DiGiCo, I found it was such an op...
01/05/2025
Stream all episodes ofLook Who's Hangry from April 29
An RT Player Original in partnership with Heinz...
01/05/2025
Here is your host, Patrick Kielty!
T naiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and T...
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.
