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Spotify paid the music industry more than $11B in royalties last year, the company said 1-28-2026. The payout is reportedly the largest ever to musicians.
Musicians receive an average of $0.004 per stream, with compensation varying based on their share of platform wide streams. Last year’s payout exceeded 2024’s by $1B; Spotify says half of the sum went to independent artists and labels. The company also claimed there are more artists making over $100K annually on the platform today than artists who were stocked on record shelves during the CD era. Spotify says its royalties account for about 30% of the recording industry’s total revenue.