The Trichordist looked at the most recent data from an extensive independent label this year. The brand has approximately 200 albums in its library, with over 200 million streams per year. It’s a representative sample, but it doesn’t include deals with large labels done behind closed doors (including hefty advances and preferred advertising slots).
The number one spot goes to Groove Music.
Surprisingly, Microsoft quickly announced its retirement from the streaming music sector late last year. The company was unable to compete against established market giants due to a lack of user support.
Groove offered the most excellent per-stream payments, which is unfortunate. Groove Music (also known as Xbox Music) paid $0.02730 per play, according to the Trichordist. Despite being the highest on the list, it had the smallest percentage of the streaming music market at 0.65%.
This explains why Microsoft has wholly abandoned the streaming music sector.
Although Napster is no longer the king of streaming revenue, it still pays out much more to artists.
As previously stated, Napster topped our ranking as the platform with the most excellent per-stream artist money given out last year.
Napster (formerly known as Rhapsody) paid $0.01682 for each play, according to The Trichoridst. It had a market share of 1.75 percent.
TIDAL should not be written off just yet.
Despite Jay Z and Beyonce’s enormous celebrity, few individuals have signed up for TIDAL. Digital Music News reported last month that the high-fidelity streaming music business has fewer than 180 days before running out of money.
Despite low subscription numbers, Jay-streaming Z’s service is paying out much more money to artists. According to reports, the benefit paid $0.0110 for each play last year. The Trichordist discovered that the platform paid $0.01284 per stream this year. In the United States, it had a 1.76 percent market share.
Apple Music came in fourth position
Apple Music, unlike rival streaming music platforms Spotify, does not offer a free tier. That helps to explain why it has a much greater per-play rate (Apple also voluntarily offered high payouts for mechanical publishing).
The service paid $0.0064 per stream in 2017. The figure has climbed to $0.00783 this year. According to reports, Apple Music has a 22.29 percent market share in the US streaming music business, trailing only Spotify.
Amazon has demonstrated that having two independent streaming music services can increase customer numbers.
So, how does Amazon fare in the world of music streaming?
Amazon claims to have 16 million subscribers when you combine Amazon Prime Music and Amazon Music Unlimited. According to recent estimates, the platform has surpassed Apple Music, which previously boasted “far over” 30 million users.
However, it’s tough to tell. The e-commerce behemoth has remained notoriously silent on the matter, vehemently guarding any news of artist payouts. The Trichordist discovered this year that the streaming site pays $0.0074 for each play. Amazon has a combined market share of 3.80%.
Spotify’s top executives make millions, while musicians struggle to make even pennies.
Spotify has the most paid subscriptions, with well over 60 million. The company’s value has soared to $19 billion ahead of its upcoming IPO on Wall Street. Spotify’s top executives are said to receive seven-figure incomes.
So, how is it doing for the artists on the platform? Not so much.
The service paid out $0.0038 per play last year. This year, not much has changed. Spotify pays $0.00397 per stream in the United States, according to reports.
Deezer is the sixth place.
Nevertheless, Deezer, a streaming music service headquartered in France, has a minor presence in the United States. Or, at least, not quite yet, according to a few accounts. Over 40 million licensed tunes are available on the established streaming music platform, which is available in over 180 countries.
Artists were paid $0.0056 per play last year, which was somewhat less than Google Play Music. The per-stream rate on the streaming music platform increased to $0.00624 this year. The platform has a market share of 3.24 percent.