As a musician or artist, one of the ultimate goals is to have your music streamed billions of times. It not only means that your music is being enjoyed by millions of people around the world, but it can also lead to substantial financial gains. But how much money is 1 billion streams actually worth? In this article, we will dive into the numbers and break down the revenue that comes with 1 billion streams.
First, let’s establish some basic numbers. On most streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube, one stream is counted when a song is played for at least 30 seconds. This means that if a song is played for 29 seconds and then skipped, it does not count as a stream. With this in mind, 1 billion streams means that a song has been played for at least 30 seconds, 1 billion times.
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Now, let’s take a look at the revenue generated from 1 billion streams on the three most popular streaming platforms: Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube.
Spotify
Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming platforms, with over 345 million monthly active users as of March 2021. According to Spotify, the average payout per stream ranges from $0.003 to $0.005. This means that for every 1 billion streams, a song will generate between $3 million and $5 million in revenue.
However, it’s important to note that this revenue is split between the artist, record label, and distributor. On average, the artist will receive around 20% of the revenue generated, while the record label and distributor will split the remaining 80%.
Using these percentages, we can estimate that an artist would earn between $600,000 and $1 million for 1 billion streams on Spotify. Of course, this number can vary depending on the specific agreement between the artist, record label, and distributor.
Apple Music~
Apple Music is another popular streaming platform, with over 60 million subscribers as of June 2019. According to reports, Apple Music pays artists an average of $0.00735 per stream. This means that for every 1 billion streams, a song will generate approximately $7.35 million in revenue.
Similar to Spotify, this revenue is split between the artist, record label, and distributor. Using the same percentages as before, we can estimate that an artist would earn between $1.47 million and $2.45 million for 1 billion streams on Apple Music.
~YouTube~
YouTube is a bit different from the other two streaming platforms mentioned because it is primarily a video-sharing platform. However, many artists still use YouTube to share their music, and it can generate a significant amount of revenue.
According to reports, YouTube pays an average of $0.00069 per stream. This means that for every 1 billion streams, a song will generate approximately $690,000 in revenue.
Once again, this revenue is split between the artist, record label, and distributor. Using the same percentages as before, we can estimate that an artist would earn between $138,000 and $230,000 for 1 billion streams on YouTube.
~Conclusion
In conclusion, 1 billion streams can generate a significant amount of revenue for an artist. However, it’s important to note that this revenue is split between the artist, record label, and distributor. The specific amount that an artist will earn from 1 billion streams can vary depending on the platform, the specific agreement with the record label and distributor, and other factors.
Overall, it’s clear that streaming has become a major source of revenue for artists in the music industry. As streaming continues to grow in popularity, it will be interesting to see how the revenue generated from 1 billion streams changes over time.
