Spotify Royalty Calculator
Estimated Royalties ($USD)
Note: This estimate is for the artist's total amount before labels, managements & distributors take their commission.
Calculating Spotify Royalties based on different factors
The music has become a lot more competitive over the past decade or two. Thanks to digital platforms like Apple Music, or Spotify, you can even generate a decent income from your songs online.
In this article, we will focus on Spotify. Or, to be more precise, how the royalties are calculated on this platform. Understanding the different factors that affect the royalty can help you come up with a clearer game plan. You can use the spotify royalty calculator above to get an idea of the payout from streams you might get.
What is a Spotify Royalty Calculator?
Spotify, or any other digital music streaming platform for that matter, takes various different factors into account when calculating royalties from streaming. In most cases, the platform does not reveal the factors. This can make it difficult for an up-and-comer to get any idea about how much money they can make from their songs.
That is where this royalty calculator can help you. It takes into account a wide variety of factors, including your region, streams, and distributors, to give you an approximate figure that you can earn from Spotify.
Keep in mind, though; estimation through the spotify royalty calculator is just an estimate. The actual money might be higher or lower in a real-time scenario.
How are Spotify royalties calculated?
There are a few variables that can affect the royalties generated from streaming. Here we will give you a quick rundown of the different factors to give you a clearer picture of how the spotify royalty system works.
1. Number of Streams
Since it is a music streaming service, the most obvious factor that goes into your royalty is the number of streams. The more people stream your song, the more revenue you can generate from it.
That is why you should always try to promote your song properly during release. Getting featured on different playlists is a great way to get your song to new listeners. This will, in turn, increase the number of streams you get on the song.
The number of streams is calculated as per thousands. This means you will get a small amount per thousands of streams you get on the song. The amount is generally low, so you need a lot of hits on your song before you can get a decent payout from it.
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2. Account type
There are two types of account holders in Spotify. First, there are the free users who use the version of the app that has ads. Then you have premium users who have bought the ad-free version of the service.
The royalties for streaming also depend on whether the user is listening from the free version or the premium version of the app. Spotify gives you way more if the user is streaming from the premium version. Since the premium version costs money to buy, the royalty it generates is understandably much higher.
But that doesn’t mean free account streamers do not offer any benefit. Every single stream matter when you are trying to build up a strong revenue from royalty on Spotify.
3. Region and Distributor
If you are from a major country such as UK, USA, Canada, Australia, etc., you can generate more income from Spotify. The region is a huge factor in determining the royalties generated from the stream.
For songs that are streamed from the same country as the distributor, Spotify pays a better amount even for free accounts. For example, if you are a USA-based artist, then people who stream from the USA will net you a better income.
This is a great feature as this means if you are popular in your locality, then you can get more income from Spotify. That is why promoting your image and song as much as you can before its release can help you get a better response on Spotify.
4. Special Deals
Record labels or major distributors sometimes have special deals with Spotify. If you are signed with such an organization, you might be able to get more royalty from each of your streams.
However, it is not that useful for newcomers who are not signed with any distributors. Still, it is worth knowing about it if you are considering signing with anyone.
Who Gets the Royalty from Spotify?
The good news is that the royalty money from Spotify goes directly to the artist if he is working independently. If you are publishing through any organization, then a portion of your royalty goes to the publisher, depending on your contract.
The same goes for any record label that you are signed under. That is why it is important to dedicate yourself to your music if you want to get the most out of Spotify royalties.
Final Thoughts
Making it big in the music industry has its fair share of hurdles. In hindsight, the royalty from a single song might not seem much. But if you stick to it, the revenue you generate from all of your songs can net up to a decent amount.
With a better understanding of the Spotify royalty system, you will be able to use it to your advantage.