Music Industry

How much do musicians make from streaming? Find out using this royalties calculator. You may be shocked.

The Royalties Calculator (brought to our attention by Tom) offers and easy way to see how much your favourite musician is making these days. Just enter a name and numbers pop up for revenues from Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, and a series of other streaming platforms. Although these figures are just estimates, the algorithms offer fans an idea of how money is made these days.

In this example, Joey Ramone is still earning good money twenty years after his death. If you add up all the income streams, it’s estimated that his estate realizes about US$12,526 a month or just over US$150,000 a year. That does not include any income from licensing, sync, radio airplay or record sales (both physical and digital).

For a real shock, type in “Drake.” He’s apparently making US$174,000 a month (US$2.09 million) just from Spotify. If these algorithms are doing their job correctly, Drake brings in over US$43 million annually from streaming. No wonder he can afford all that bling.

Want to snoop around with your favourite artist? Go here.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 37993 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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