In a letter to artists, Apple says it pays a penny per stream, roughly double Spotify, which pays an average of about one-third to half a penny per stream
Double What Spotify Pays Tatiana Cirisano / Billboard : Apple Music Says Per-Stream Royalty Rate Is Double What Spotify Pays Philip Elmer-DeWitt / Philip Elmer‑DeWitt : Apple vs. Spotify: Who can follow the math? PYMNTS.com : Every Download Costs Apple Music About One Cent Catie Keck / Gizmodo : Apple Music Says It Pays Artists an Average of a Penny Per Stream, Which Is Somehow Good Chris Smith / Trusted Reviews : Apple reveals penny-per-play streaming rate for Apple Music artists Brian Heater / TechCrunch : Apple Music streaming revenue detailed in letter to artists Michael Simon / Macworld : Apple pays out a penny every time you stream a song on Apple Music Shawn Knight / TechSpot : Apple Music pays rights holders a penny per song streamed MacDailyNews : Apple Music pays artists double what Spotify pays Engadget : Apple Music pays a penny per stream, double Spotify's rate Dave LeClair / MUO : Apple Music Reveals How Much It Pays Artists Per Stream Evan Selleck / iDownloadBlog.com : Apple Music pays out one cent per stream [Update: Apple's full letter] Katie Canales / Insider : Apple Music said it will pay artists a penny per stream - double what Spotify pays Christopher Baugh / iPhone in Canada Blog : Apple Music Pays One Cent Per Stream, Roughly Two Times More Than Spotify: WSJ Jack Purcher / Patently Apple : Apple Music Reveals in a letter to Artists that it pays roughly double what Spotify pays per stream Jem Aswad / Variety : Apple Music Claims It Pays Artists a Penny Per Stream Josiah Motley / KnowTechie : Apple reveals how much it pays artists - it's more than Spotify, but it still ain't a lot William Gallagher / AppleInsider : Apple Music pays artists a penny per stream, double that of Spotify Joe Rossignol / MacRumors : Apple Music Tops Spotify With One Cent Paid Per Stream Stephen Warwick / iMore : Here's how much Apple Music really pays the artists you listen to Ed Hardy / Cult of Mac : Apple Music pays musicians far more per stream than Spotify Tweets: Ted Gioia / @tedgioia : Apple claims it pays a penny per stream—twice as much as Spotify—to musicians. https://www.wsj.com/... Just the fact that streaming platforms now feel the need to disclose payouts is a sign of progress. Federico Viticci / @viticci : The @TIDAL app is proof that displaying full credits for songs and albums is totally possible these days. They have detailed breakdowns for engineers and performers on each track. When other streaming services don't do this, it's simply because they don't care, which is a shame. https://twitter.com/... Josh Marshall / @joshtpm : @seanhackbarth i'm a hardcore apple guy but apple music freaks me out Joe Rossignol / @rsgnl : I wonder if and when we'll get an updated Apple Music subscriber count? I believe the last publicly disclosed number was “more than 60 million” subscribers in June 2019. Nearly two years ago. I wonder if Apple feels this info is too competitive to be shared now, or what? Matthew Ball / @ballmatthew : @JohnLMacFarlane @bdmon3 1 of 2: If per user engagement grows, per streams fall. But ST royalties are flat + LT pricing should grow. Good for all If family plans reduce ARPPU and grow users, per streams fall. But total paying users grow, so too should LT ARPU. Good for all Josh Marshall / @joshtpm : @jbouie @seanhackbarth Yeah, I'm not sure why I was so turned off by it. I think because they made it harder to use iTunes to greased the skids into Apple Music and that pissed me off. Matthew Ball / @ballmatthew : @JohnLMacFarlane @bdmon3 But I certainly hope that over time, more artists make more money. That does seem to be happening quite widely - and certainly can't without new revenue growth comin in - but am open to data showing the per stream rates are instead diverting it elsewhere Federico Viticci / @viticci : And before I get the “But Apple doesn't have the data!” responses: - An indie utility called MusicSmart figured out how to display full credits for any Apple Music track by querying different online databases: https://www.macstories.net/... - It's Apple. They could just buy the data. Matthew Ball / @ballmatthew : Alt Headline: Apple Music subscribers use the service half as much as Spotify subscribers do, or live in countries with twice the ARPU https://twitter.com/... Federico Viticci / @viticci : For context: Spotify shows lead performer and producer info. Apple Music only shows who wrote the lyrics. Both of these services should do *a lot* better to give proper recognition to folks who work in the music industry. https://twitter.com/... Matthew Ball / @ballmatthew : @bdmon3 Also pays more gross than any other service, and has singularly doubled the market Josh Constine / @joshconstine : Does this just mean Apple Music subscribers stream half as much music as Spotify subscribers? https://twitter.com/... La Neve / @joeyquits : From all the numbers I've seen, Apple does not in fact pay a cent per stream. Far from it. And we need to continue to push them on that. But the fact that they're declaring it as a goal is a big deal. https://www.wsj.com/... Nilay Patel / @reckless : Apple has really put itself in the crosshairs with this penny-per-stream number — if that isn't what artists ultimately see, the backlash is going to be real. @ericswaggyswoop : unless they just recently raised this, this isn't even true? looking at distrokid i get anywhere from 3/10 of a cent to 9/10 of a cent from apple music. never a whole cent. nevertheless it's true that apple music has paid an average of double that spotify does per stream https://twitter.com/... Nilay Patel / @reckless : Updated this piece — Apple's penny-per-stream is an average rate, artist payouts do vary by plan and country. Still, Apple taking direct shots at Spotify here https://www.theverge.com/... JM Rieger / @riegerreport : Apple Music pays $0.01 per stream, roughly double what Spotify pays per stream. Apple pays 52% of subscription revenue to record labels. Spotify pays 2/3 of every dollar of revenue to rights holders, with 75% to 80% of that going to labels. https://www.wsj.com/... Evan Greer / @evan_greer : Wall Street Journal: “Apple's penny-per-stream payment structure—which music-industry experts say can dip lower—is roughly double what Spotify, the world's largest music-streaming service, pays” hmmmmm seems like it's time for #JusticeAtSpotify https://www.wsj.com/... Lance Ulanoff / @lanceulanoff : Still trying to digest that artists get just a penny per stream https://www.wsj.com/... Ethan Smith / @ethanwsj : Apple Music says it pays the music industry a penny per stream—about double what Spotify pays. (But Apple Music generates many fewer streams.) https://www.wsj.com/... See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s artist-facing rate disclosure follows earlier experimentation with lower payments during its free trial and a later proposal for a simplified songwriting-royalty rate. It gives Apple Music a clear public comparison with Spotify, but related coverage also stresses that per-stream figures alone do not determine what artists receive.
The disclosure matters because Apple is framing royalty payments as a competitive attribute rather than only a label-contract term. Apple’s earlier Warner Music Group agreement, which reportedly involved a smaller label-revenue share, shows that the economics behind a headline per-stream figure extend beyond the published number.
First-order effects
- Apple Music can use its stated $0.01 average as an artist-relations and competitive-positioning point against Spotify’s cited $0.003–$0.005 range.
- Spotify faces a more visible comparison on payouts, while artists and rights holders gain a concrete Apple benchmark to scrutinize.
Second-order effects
- The comparison puts greater attention on how Spotify and Apple explain royalty calculations, since the related coverage notes that per-stream metrics can mislead when separated from royalty mechanics.
- Labels and songwriters are likely to focus negotiations on the underlying revenue shares and royalty categories, not solely on Apple’s public average.
Third-order effects
- If platforms continue publishing competing per-stream averages, artist compensation becomes a more explicit product-market differentiator, even as the industry disputes whether a single rate captures actual pay.
- The lasting pressure is toward greater transparency around streaming royalty inputs; Apple’s prior flat-rate proposal shows the appeal of simpler benchmarks, while the current debate shows their limits.
The trend: Music-streaming platforms are turning royalty transparency into a competitive signal, while rights holders press for measures that reflect the full payment structure.