Here’s How Much Spotify Has Paid One Major Label Pop Group

How much would Spotify’s royalties cost if a commercially prominent pop group signed to a major label? This is one of several questions we attempt to answer in our

Johansson, a lecturer at the Norwegian Inland University of Applied Sciences, just published a nearly 50-page book detailing the economics of Spotify’s royalties.Over the years, as part of comprehensive learning music industry According to the report, the contributors analyzed “all Swedish artists who have generated more than 1 million streams on Spotify since their release,” and in the process amassed a staggering 267.82 billion total plays from 8,339 artists. took into account.

Of course, world-famous artists make up a sizeable portion of these streams, with works by Avicii, Zara Larsson, Tove Lo, and ABBA totaling some 31.89 billion over the period, according to the breakdown. Recorded 10,000 plays. On the other hand, the first ten or so pages of this resource, which Johansson is said to have spent his six months creating, lays out the foundations of the industry in relative detail.

The latter includes the distinction between composing and recording, the nuances of Spotify’s pro-rata royalty model, factors that affect revenue per stream (such as listener geography, ad-supported vs. paid accounts), and revenue from streaming services. It includes multifaceted streams of payments. And in the pocket of the artist signed to the label.

As for the methodology behind Spotify’s copyright research and its extrapolation, Johansson ran it using between one-third and one-half of the average recorded copyright fees available historically. . per stream.

The researchers also performed a “brutal simplification of royalty agreements” in label deals by calculating between 10% and 50% of what contracted artists actually receive. Finally, on an important background detail, Johansson set his per-stream royalty rate at composition-side from his 8% of his penny to his 13%.

“Also, in conversations with industry experts and label executives, we’ve found that 15% to 25% can be considered somewhat of a norm for modern large label deals,” the authors summarize, adding that similarly upfront payments and “other It reiterated that it did not calculate the “contractual necessity of It is an essential part of the economic relationship between labels and artists. “

Expanding on the point, the first-pointed “pop band signed to a major label” has been in the industry for over 30 years and is said to have recorded about 300 million Spotify streams since 2008. ing. (Names anonymized in the study) This band and others whose streaming data is incorporated into “simulation use cases”).

Studies show that these streams bring in total revenues of $900,000 to $1.5 million in recording royalties for the group, and (20%) $180,000 to $300,000 to the creators themselves. Conceivable.

And assuming the four members involved split that amount evenly over the 14-year period, the monthly take-home pay would be $270 to $450, “not taking into account deductions,” plus $260 to $420 per person. The text indicates that is added. The month of the underlying music.

Interestingly, the second “apparently simplistic” use case, this time centered around unsigned hip-hop artists who have generated 580 million Spotify streams since joining the service in 2015, and the platform Royalties of $2.32 million to $3.65 million accrued on the above replays. Or, without label splits, it’s relatively expensive at $27,600 to $43,500 per month.

Another notable use case of this study (11 in total) involved a six-piece metal group (“one of Sweden’s most famous bands”) signed to a sub-label of a “major label”. The group, which had 150 million streams for him on the platform, would have earned only $160 to $270 per member per month since 2008 with a 20% label split.

Worth mentioning in conclusion are the relevant statistics disclosed in this study to provide additional context to popular listening preferences. For example, out of nearly 3 billion streams analyzed, Pops gave him a 40.9% listen share for his releases, even though the artist in charge made up 36.6% of his sample. Also, the most played (and most uploaded) dance/electronic tracks are said to secure his 27.22% of streams, while the artists involved were 17.8 out of 17.8 of those analyzed. % only.