DemoPool / Free tools / Royalty calculator
Streaming royalty calculator
How much do your streams pay? Drag the slider.
Approx. on Spotify
How we estimate
- Average payout per stream from 2025–26 distributor data.
- Real pay varies: free vs Premium plays, listener country, your distributor or label cut.
- Spotify pays $0 to tracks under 1,000 streams a year.
≈ $400
$300–$500 range
How streaming royalties are calculated
No major platform pays a fixed price per play. Each one pools the money from subscriptions and ads in a country for a month, and around 70% of it goes to rights holders. Your cut is your streamshare: if your tracks were 0.0001% of streams in Germany last month, you get 0.0001% of the German pool. The "per-stream rate" people quote is just that payout divided by streams, after the fact.
The money goes to whoever owns the recording, usually through your distributor or label, who take their share first. Songwriting royalties are paid separately through publishers and collecting societies and are not in this calculator. SoundCloud is the exception to the pooled model: its fan-powered royalties split each listener's money only between the artists they played.
Why the rates are so different
- Free vs paid listeners. An ad-supported stream earns a fraction of a Premium one. YouTube Music and Spotify have huge free tiers; Apple Music and Tidal have none.
- Country. A stream from the US or Norway is worth several times one from India or Brazil.
- Pool size. Fewer listeners paying full price, like on Tidal, means a higher rate per stream but a smaller total.
The Spotify 1,000-stream rule
Since April 2024, a track must reach at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months, plus a minimum number of unique listeners, before it earns recording royalties on Spotify. Ten tracks with 500 streams each pay $0 there. Fewer releases with more streams each beat many quiet ones.
How to get more streams: playlists
The rate is out of your hands; volume is not. Independent curators run thousands of genre playlists with real listeners and accept pitches by email. Pitch curators who already play your genre, send one private link, keep it under 120 words and follow up once. Never pay for a fixed number of streams: bought streams get tracks taken down. Our list of 757 playlist curators is split by genre, and the free pitch email generator writes the email.
FAQ
How much does Spotify pay per stream?
Most distributor data puts Spotify at about $0.003 to $0.005 per stream in 2026, before your distributor or label takes its cut. Spotify does not publish a fixed rate. It pays out by streamshare, so the real figure depends on where your listeners are and whether they pay for Premium.
How many streams do you need to make $1,000 on Spotify?
At $0.003 to $0.005 per stream, about 200,000 to 333,000 streams make $1,000 before fees. Drag the calculator to about 250,000 to see it on every platform.
Do you get paid for streams under 1,000 on Spotify?
No. Since April 2024 a track needs at least 1,000 streams in the last 12 months, plus a minimum number of unique listeners, to earn recording royalties on Spotify. Below that, the money is shared out to eligible tracks.
Which streaming service pays artists the most per stream?
Tidal usually shows the highest rate, around $0.011 to $0.015, followed by Apple Music. Spotify pays less per stream but usually brings the most streams, so it is often the biggest line on a statement.
Why is my real payout different from the calculator?
Your listeners' countries, the share of free vs paid streams, your distributor fee and your label split all move the number. Use a recent statement to find your own rate and compare it with the ranges here.
How do I get more streams without buying fake ones?
Pitch independent playlist curators who already play your genre, release regularly and send listeners from social posts to one link. Never pay for a guaranteed stream count: artificial streams get tracks taken down.
All sources (checked Oct 9, 2026): Spotify for Artists, track monetization eligibility; Ditto Music, Jun 2026; Royalty Exchange, Jul 2026; LabelGrid, Sep 2026; ISRC.com, Mar 2026; PlaylistSupply, 2026; Duetti 2024 data via Mezha, Jan 2025; Last Play Distro (SoundCloud), Jun 2026; Rolling Stone (Apple Music), Apr 2021.