How Much Do Top Artists Make on Spotify?
By Ramiro
Updated: October 3, 2023
Have you ever wondered what the biggest names in music are earning from the popular streaming platform, Spotify?
In this article, we are going to pull back the curtain on this intriguing topic, breaking it down so that it’s easy to understand, even if you’re not an industry insider.
We’ll start by unpacking the complexities of Spotify’s payment system, demystifying the formula that determines how much each artist earns per stream.
We’ll then move on to specific examples, exploring the earnings of top artists.
Prepare to be surprised as we delve into the big numbers.
This information might not only alter your perception of the music industry, but also inspire you to explore new ways artists can leverage their talent for financial gain.
By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of what it truly means to be a ‘top artist’ on Spotify, from a financial standpoint.
Whether you’re an aspiring artist, an avid music fan, or someone simply intrigued by the economics of the music industry, this article has something for everyone.
Explore how you can get paid to listen to music and delve into the diverse facets of the musical landscape.
Read on to unlock the mysteries of music streaming revenue.
Key Takeaways:
- Top 5 most-streamed artists on Spotify like Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and The Weeknd make around $25 per minute, 24/7
- The Weeknd is the most streamed artist on Spotify with an estimated 272 million monthly streams, earning $1,320,000 per month
- Top 50 most-streamed artists on Spotify make, on average, $750,000 per month, which is 700x the monthly minimum wage in the US
- Spotify top 50 artists make, on average, $1,100 per hour, 24/7, which is the monthly US federal minimum wage
- The biggest winner of this all is Spotify itself, since usually takes 30% from artist's revenue
- A quarter of all tracks uploaded to Spotify receive no streams, and make no revenue, while only the top 1% (110,000 artists from 11 million) made more than $10,000 on the platform
- The above earning estimates only include Spotify royalties, and not those from other platforms like Apple Music, and YouTube
How Much Does Spotify Pay Artists?
Spotify pays rights holders on a per-stream basis.Â
The rate varies by market, but is generally fractions of a cent per play, with the average payout being between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream.Â
That money is then distributed amongst rights holders, which can include record labels, publishers, and other entities, which then pay a portion to the artist.
It’s important to note that the rate can vary based on a variety of factors, such as the listener’s country, the artist’s royalty rate, and whether the listener is a free or premium subscriber.
However, it’s also known that Spotify usually strikes special deals with their top artists, possibly ensuring them a rate on the higher end of the range mentioned above.
We used that $0.005 per stream figure to estimate the earnings shown below.
Top 50 Spotify Artists' Revenue
| Rank | Artist | Monthly Listeners | Monthly Streams | Monthly Revenue | Weekly Revenue | Daily Revenue | Hourly Revenue | Revenue per Minute |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Weeknd | 108.790.000 | 271.975.000 | $1.359.875 | $339.969 | $48.567 | $2.024 | $34 |
| 2 | Ed Sheeran | 86.490.000 | 216.225.000 | $1.081.125 | $270.281 | $38.612 | $1.609 | $27 |
| 3 | Taylor Swift | 84.620.000 | 211.550.000 | $1.057.750 | $264.438 | $37.777 | $1.574 | $26 |
| 4 | Miley Cyrus | 77.580.000 | 193.950.000 | $969.750 | $242.438 | $34.634 | $1.443 | $24 |
| 5 | Rihanna | 75.810.000 | 189.525.000 | $947.625 | $236.906 | $33.844 | $1.410 | $24 |
| 6 | Justin Bieber | 73.260.000 | 183.150.000 | $915.750 | $228.938 | $32.705 | $1.363 | $23 |
| 7 | Shakira | 73.090.000 | 182.725.000 | $913.625 | $228.406 | $32.629 | $1.360 | $23 |
| 8 | Ariana Grande | 72.620.000 | 181.550.000 | $907.750 | $226.938 | $32.420 | $1.351 | $23 |
| 9 | David Guetta | 72.420.000 | 181.050.000 | $905.250 | $226.313 | $32.330 | $1.347 | $22 |
| 10 | Bad Bunny | 71.470.000 | 178.675.000 | $893.375 | $223.344 | $31.906 | $1.329 | $22 |
| 11 | Drake | 71.000.000 | 177.500.000 | $887.500 | $221.875 | $31.696 | $1.321 | $22 |
| 12 | Eminem | 66.820.000 | 167.050.000 | $835.250 | $208.813 | $29.830 | $1.243 | $21 |
| 13 | SZA | 66.380.000 | 165.950.000 | $829.750 | $207.438 | $29.634 | $1.235 | $21 |
| 14 | Coldplay | 66.000.000 | 165.000.000 | $825.000 | $206.250 | $29.464 | $1.228 | $20 |
| 15 | Calvin Harris | 65.590.000 | 163.975.000 | $819.875 | $204.969 | $29.281 | $1.220 | $20 |
| 16 | Harry Styles | 64.850.000 | 162.125.000 | $810.625 | $202.656 | $28.951 | $1.206 | $20 |
| 17 | Dua Lipa | 61.740.000 | 154.350.000 | $771.750 | $192.938 | $27.563 | $1.148 | $19 |
| 18 | Imagine Dragons | 61.550.000 | 153.875.000 | $769.375 | $192.344 | $27.478 | $1.145 | $19 |
| 19 | Bruno Mars | 61.140.000 | 152.850.000 | $764.250 | $191.063 | $27.295 | $1.137 | $19 |
| 20 | Post Malone | 59.400.000 | 148.500.000 | $742.500 | $185.625 | $26.518 | $1.105 | $18 |
| 21 | Sam Smith | 58.530.000 | 146.325.000 | $731.625 | $182.906 | $26.129 | $1.089 | $18 |
| 22 | Selena Gomez | 58.420.000 | 146.050.000 | $730.250 | $182.563 | $26.080 | $1.087 | $18 |
| 23 | Future | 58.240.000 | 145.600.000 | $728.000 | $182.000 | $26.000 | $1.083 | $18 |
| 24 | 21 Savage | 57.760.000 | 144.400.000 | $722.000 | $180.500 | $25.786 | $1.074 | $18 |
| 25 | Marshmello | 57.040.000 | 142.600.000 | $713.000 | $178.250 | $25.464 | $1.061 | $18 |
| 26 | Maroon 5 | 55.820.000 | 139.550.000 | $697.750 | $174.438 | $24.920 | $1.038 | $17 |
| 27 | Lady Gaga | 55.410.000 | 138.525.000 | $692.625 | $173.156 | $24.737 | $1.031 | $17 |
| 28 | Kanye West | 54.650.000 | 136.625.000 | $683.125 | $170.781 | $24.397 | $1.017 | $17 |
| 29 | Billie Eilish | 54.270.000 | 135.675.000 | $678.375 | $169.594 | $24.228 | $1.009 | $17 |
| 30 | Khalid | 53.940.000 | 134.850.000 | $674.250 | $168.563 | $24.080 | $1.003 | $17 |
| 31 | Doja Cat | 53.880.000 | 134.700.000 | $673.500 | $168.375 | $24.054 | $1.002 | $17 |
| 32 | Adele | 53.620.000 | 134.050.000 | $670.250 | $167.563 | $23.938 | $997 | $17 |
| 33 | J Balvin | 52.960.000 | 132.400.000 | $662.000 | $165.500 | $23.643 | $985 | $16 |
| 34 | Katy Perry | 52.740.000 | 131.850.000 | $659.250 | $164.813 | $23.545 | $981 | $16 |
| 35 | Nicki Minaj | 52.307.000 | 130.767.500 | $653.838 | $163.459 | $23.351 | $973 | $16 |
| 36 | Metro Boomin | 52.306.000 | 130.765.000 | $653.825 | $163.456 | $23.351 | $973 | $16 |
| 37 | Daddy Yankee | 51.420.000 | 128.550.000 | $642.750 | $160.688 | $22.955 | $956 | $16 |
| 38 | Chris Brown | 50.740.000 | 126.850.000 | $634.250 | $158.563 | $22.652 | $944 | $16 |
| 39 | Travis Scott | 50.600.000 | 126.500.000 | $632.500 | $158.125 | $22.589 | $941 | $16 |
| 40 | Karol G | 50.160.000 | 125.400.000 | $627.000 | $156.750 | $22.393 | $933 | $16 |
| 41 | Rauw Alejandro | 49.650.000 | 124.125.000 | $620.625 | $155.156 | $22.165 | $924 | $15 |
| 42 | Beyoncé | 49.220.000 | 123.050.000 | $615.250 | $153.813 | $21.973 | $916 | $15 |
| 43 | Elton John | 48.970.000 | 122.425.000 | $612.125 | $153.031 | $21.862 | $911 | $15 |
| 44 | Ozuna | 48.820.000 | 122.050.000 | $610.250 | $152.563 | $21.795 | $908 | $15 |
| 45 | OneRepublic | 48.270.000 | 120.675.000 | $603.375 | $150.844 | $21.549 | $898 | $15 |
| 46 | Peso Pluma | 47.900.000 | 119.750.000 | $598.750 | $149.688 | $21.384 | $891 | $15 |
| 47 | Queen | 47.640.000 | 119.100.000 | $595.500 | $148.875 | $21.268 | $886 | $15 |
| 48 | Sia | 47.150.000 | 117.875.000 | $589.375 | $147.344 | $21.049 | $877 | $15 |
| 49 | Shawn Mendes | 46.030.000 | 115.075.000 | $575.375 | $143.844 | $20.549 | $856 | $14 |
| 50 | Bebe Rexha | 45.640.000 | 114.100.000 | $570.500 | $142.625 | $20.375 | $849 | $14 |
Methodology and Data Sources
- Official Spotify monthly listeners data as of May 2023
- Own calculations based on a conservative average of 2.5 track streams per monthly listener and a $0.005 per stream rate
