The Death of the Middle-Class Musician

“While Spotify paid out a record $10 billion (US) in royalties in 2024, fewer than 1 percent of artists made more than $6,000 from the platform.”

Spotify paid a record $10 billion in royalties and fewer than 1% of artists made more than $6,000. The three major labels own 70% of recorded music and part of Spotify itself. Warner and Sony made over $1 billion selling Spotify shares. The streams pay the labels twice and the musicians almost nothing.