Despite the fact that Spotify has additional tariffs with advertising, including a free one, the income from these sources does not have a significant impact on musicians' payments. Among all the popular services, the average payout from Spotify is the smallest.
- Amazon – $8,8 (per 1000 listens);
- TIDAL – $6,8;
- Apple Music – $6,2;
- YouTube Music – $4,8;
- Deezer – $4,8;
- Pandora – $3,2;
- Spotify – $3,0.
Although Spotify offers more tariffs, including options with advertising, YouTube still pays artists one and a half times more, and Apple Music pays twice as much as the most popular streaming service. The report also notes that, despite Spotify's regular increases in subscription fees, payments to artists are decreasing.
By the way, a company representative commented on the information provided in the report and denied almost all of the data, calling it ridiculous and unfounded.
"“These claims are ridiculous and unfounded. No streaming service pays per stream because that approach would incentivize streaming services to minimize streams. It would mean low engagement, fewer artist connections, and lower overall payouts. Instead, we take the opposite approach. We want users to engage more so that they pay more – both by sticking around and choosing premium. We are proud to be the leader in total payouts, but that doesn’t happen by accident; it’s by design. Further, not only do we dispute the numbers and unattributed ‘guesses’ across the board, but we reject the premise of the report because it is out of step with the reality of how the industry works," the company said in a statement.