Apple Music Tops Spotify With One Cent Paid Per Stream

In a letter slated to be shared with artists today through the Apple Music for Artists dashboard, obtained by The Wall Street Journal, Apple has reportedly revealed that it pays music rights holders one cent per song streamed on Apple Music.

apple music
The report claims that Apple Music's payment structure is thus roughly double what Spotify pays music rights holders per stream, which averages to about one-third to one-half penny per stream, although the report cites music industry experts who say that Apple Music's payments can dip lower. Apple Music's payments come directly from the service's subscription-based revenue from customers, the report adds.

In the letter, Apple says it pays 52% of subscription revenue, or 52 cents of every dollar, to record labels and other music rights holders, according to the report. These music rights holders in turn pay artists based on their recording, publishing, and distribution agreements, so artists might not receive the entire cent per stream.

"As the discussion about streaming royalties continues, we believe it is important to share our values," Apple said in the letter, the report says. "We believe in paying every creator the same rate, that a play has a value, and that creators should never have to pay" for their music to be featured in prominent sections of the Apple Music app.

Spotify has significantly more users than Apple Music worldwide, with 155 million paying subscribers and 345 million total users as of the end of 2020. Apple Music's last known subscriber count is around 60 million, including those on a free trial, but Apple has not provided an updated figure in nearly two years now.

Popular Stories

apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Expected Later This Year With These New Features

Saturday July 12, 2025 3:09 pm PDT by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the next Apple TV, according to rumors. Rumors Faster Wi-Fi Support The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports ...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

5 Reasons to Skip This Year's iPhone 17 Pro

Thursday July 10, 2025 4:54 am PDT by
Apple will launch its new iPhone 17 series in two months, and the iPhone 17 Pro models are expected to get a new design for the rear casing and the camera area. But more significant changes to the lineup are not expected until next year, when the iPhone 18 models arrive. If you're thinking of trading in your iPhone for this year's latest, consider the following features rumored to be coming...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 16 New Features

Friday July 11, 2025 12:40 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are only two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:A redesigned Dynamic Island: It has been rumored that all iPhone 17 models will have a redesigned Dynamic Island interface — it might ...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 Complications

Apple Watch Ultra 3: What to Expect

Sunday July 13, 2025 10:30 am PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 is nearly over, and a handful of new features and changes have been rumored for the device. Below, we recap what to expect from the Apple Watch Ultra 3:Satellite connectivity for sending and receiving text messages when Wi-Fi and cellular coverage is unavailable 5G support, up from LTE on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 Likely a wide-angle OLED display that ...
iphone 16 pro pro max

iPhone 17 Pro Models With BOE Displays Will Be Sold in China Only

Thursday July 10, 2025 11:59 pm PDT by
iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max models with displays made by BOE will be sold exclusively in China, according to a new report. Last week, it emerged that Chinese display manufacturer BOE was aggressively ramping up its OLED production capacity for future iPhone models as part of a plan to recapture a major role in Apple's supply chain. Now, tech news aggregator Jukan Choi reports...
top stories 2025 07 12

Top Stories: iPhone 17 Pro Rumors, iOS 26 Beta 3, and More

Saturday July 12, 2025 6:00 am PDT by
The iOS 26 public beta release is quickly approaching, while developers have recently gotten their hands on a third round of betas that has seen Apple continue to tweak features, design, and functionality. We're also continuing to hear rumors about the iPhone 17 lineup that is now just about right around the corner, while Apple's latest big-budget film appears to be taking off, so read on...

Top Rated Comments

MauiPa Avatar
56 months ago
Exactly why I won't use Spotify. They are the biggest by so much, where do they spend the money they don't pay artists? Not in quality software, must be CEO pay and such.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MauiPa Avatar
56 months ago

It still doesn’t sound very much for the artists!!!!
do some math. If you bought an Album and played it only 30 times with an average of 15 songs, that is $4.50 directly to artist. In traditional CD sales "Artists can receive 10% – 15% of suggested album retail minus packaging costs." https://www.recordingconnection.com/reference-library/recording-entrepreneurs/how-do-record-labels-turn-a-profit/

So that is $1.50 on a $15 Album
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
CB1234 Avatar
56 months ago
It still doesn’t sound very much for the artists!!!!
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
yaxomoxay Avatar
56 months ago

do some math. If you bought an Album and played it only 30 times with an average of 15 songs, that is $4.50 directly to artist. In traditional CD sales "Artists can receive 10% – 15% of suggested album retail minus packaging costs." https://www.recordingconnection.com/reference-library/recording-entrepreneurs/how-do-record-labels-turn-a-profit/

So that is $1.50 on a $15 Album

artists are not receiving the full $4.50... there are still producers, distributors, etc to pay.
I think that the true power of Apple Music and Spotify is that it allows users to find more music that otherwise they would not regularly purchase, which drives more money to artists in general.
I am sure that I am not the only one that randomly finds an interesting song (maybe heard it on tv etc.) by someone I don't even know, starts listening to it, then listens to more songs by the same artist and then just moves to similar artists for a while.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NotTooLate Avatar
56 months ago

Yes, those maths sound alright, but artists would have to wait until you've listened the album 30 times, before getting that revenue, and how long is that going to take. I think they would prefer the $1.50 in their pocket from you as soon as possible, so they can get on with things.

The lower the pay per stream value is, the lower audiences, labels, and services value the music itself. It just becomes a product to shift.
There is no doubt in my mind that ive listened to MUCH more music with streaming services then I ever did with CD`s , so overall artists are getting much more money from me personally , overall I would argue that streaming is better business then CD sales , for the biggest artists it might be a different math , but I got to listen to artists that I will Never thought about buying their creations before I had a streaming service that lets me listen to whatever I decide at the same price per month (on my end).

Some of the artists are multi millionaires and to them the "delayed" payment is a non issue , for the smaller artists I believe streaming service is a blessing as more ppl listen to more music then ever , so greater chance to break out and make it big.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
darkcompass Avatar
56 months ago

It doesn’t matter who pays more. Audience coverage matters. Apple Music sucks here compared to Spotify.
Artists can arrange their music to be on multiple platforms, so the coverage is moot, the artist should just be paid fairly.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)