Spotify Paid Out $10 Billion to the Music Industry in 2024 — $1 Billion More Than Last Year — and $60 Billion Total

variety.com:

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Spotify paid out $10 billion to the music industry in 2024 — some $1 billion more than last year, the previous record — making its total around $60 billion since it was founded in 2006.

The company made the announcement in a blog post Tuesday morning. While that figure may seem questionable considering how little many musicians make from streaming, it’s important to bear in mind that Spotify (like most streaming services) pays rights-holders, usually a label and music publisher, which then distribute the money to musicians and songwriters, after taking their percentage.

While the streaming economy leaves much to be desired in terms of compensating creators, the blame is not entirely on streaming services.

In 2023, the company said it pays out nearly 70% of every dollar it generates from music back to the industry, generating its music revenue from two sources: subscription fees from its Premium platform paying subscribers, and fees from advertisings on music on its Free tier.