Spotify pays an average of 0.00437p Per Stream, and it represents 69.57% of streaming market revenue share, so it's the most relevant platform to analyse streaming revenues for your music. This post will discuss the following questions:
- How many Spotify streams do I need every year to make the equivalent of an average income?
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How can I achieve millions of streams without millions of social followers?
- How can I maximise profits from Spotify?
How Many Streams?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a median personal income of $865 per week for all full-time US workers in 2017. To earn this an artist (or copyright holder) needs just less than 200,000 streams on Spotify every week. Which is around 10 million streams per year. That might seem like a massive and unachievable number... But with excellent songwriting and production, there is a calculated approach that will increase your chances of getting millions of streams.
How Can I Rack Up 10 Million Streams!?
Self released artist Perrin Lamb made $56k in one year from ONE song streamed over 10 million times. His track ‘Everyone’s Got Something’ was added to the ‘Your Favourite Coffeehouse’ playlist and the streams started rolling in.
The track was released a full year before it was featured on the playlist. This displays one of the most valuable features of the music you create today… It’s shelf life is potentially endless. Your music is always fresh and new to someone, so keep pushing your back catalogue down new avenues that might generate revenue streams.
Here's a quote from Calvin Coolidge to keep in mind when pitching your music:
"Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
How To Get Your Music On Spotify Playlist?
If you're confident that your songs are well written and you've used our plugin LEVELS to make sure it will sound great on Spotify, then you can start pitching your music to get featured on a Spotify playlist. I have stereo mastered dozens of tracks that have ended up on playlists with millions of followers. It's a great way to get organic exposure of your material.
- Get a verified profile on Spotify. Find out more here: https://www.spotifyartists.com/verification/
- Reach Out to Spotify’s playlist curators At the bottom of this post I've listed the top 25 most popular playlists on Spotify. They might not be right for your music but it can give you an idea of what people are listening to. You can learn more about approaching A&R through email from my post on Music Marketing.
- Send your tracks to other popular music blogs too. Not only is it more exposure if they select your music but you might also reach more curators.
- Email is a great way to reach people, so grow your fan mailing list…This will probably turn out to be more fruitful than focussing on socials. You can then email them when you release a track on Spotify.
Getting Paid
Spotify’s royalty payouts have had a lot of bad press from some major artists. However, streaming services can be lucrative (and seem fairer) when the artist owns the publishing and songwriting rights. Spotify pays out 70% of their revenues to rights holders. If you self release your music through a platform like CD Baby, you can retain a larger slice of the pie than if you sign the track to a label. Sometimes releasing with a label can be the best option due their market reach and leverage with streaming sites. You'll need to decide what is best for you.
25 Most Popular Spotify Playlists
6) Mood Booster
7) Teen Party
8) Cardio
10) Weekend Hangouts
14) Girls' Night
15) Songs to Sing in the Shower
16) Acoustic Morning
17) Deep Focus
18) Power Workout
19) VERANO 2014
20) EDM 2014
21) Acoustic Lounge
22) TOP OF THE CHARTS PLAYLIST
24) I'm an 80's Baby
