Frequently Asked Questions

Music streaming is the process of listening to music in real time over the internet without downloading it or storing it permanently on your device.

The total value of the global streaming market is around $40 billion, according to Goldman Sachs’ 2025 Music In The Air report. As of 2025, there are 837 million paid streaming subscribers globally, according to official data from the IFPI.

According to global entertainment data provider Luminate, roughly 100,000 new tracks are uploaded to music streaming services globally each day.

Streaming has shifted the way we consume music from ownership to access, providing instant on-demand access to vast libraries of music. This is a huge change from CDs, vinyl, or even digital downloads, where you have to find and buy the specific albums or songs you want. This has enabled people to listen to music anytime, anywhere, and to easily access the back catalog of their favorite artists.

Absolutely. IFPI data shows that global music revenue from vinyl grew by 4.6% in 2025 (its 18th consecutive year of growth), cassette sales have seen a resurgence in recent years, and CD sales remain steady. People are also going to more live music than ever – the global live music market reached $34.6 billion in 2024, according to Goldman Sachs. Research shows that streaming drives people even more to discover and engage with music in other ways beyond streaming.

Yes – in total, there are over 200 million tracks available on streaming services, including music from all over the world. The digital distribution of music means songs and albums can now be made available worldwide instantly, and subscribing to these services means you can listen to music from any genre, era or part of the world whenever you choose.
This is a huge change from physical formats, such as CDs, where reaching international audiences depends on physical manufacturing, shipping, and retail networks, which can be expensive, slow, and sometimes limited in certain markets. As a result, releases can be delayed or never reach certain markets at all in physical formats.

When you download a song, you pay to store that specific song permanently on your device or account. With streaming, a monthly subscription gives you access to any song on demand from your chosen device without storing it permanently.

Artists need to choose a digital distributor – companies who specialize in delivering their music to streaming services, including all necessary data and artwork. For this service, the distributor will charge a flat fee or take a percentage of your royalties. For artists who are signed to a record label, that label will likely already work with a distributor to deliver your music to streaming services.

Streaming services pay roughly 70% of their revenue to the music industry, split between recorded music (artists who record a track) and publishing (songwriters and composers). How this 70% of revenue is split varies on a territory-by-territory basis, but usually around 55% of streaming revenue is allocated to recorded music and 15% to publishing. This split is determined by negotiations between industry stakeholders in each territory. A streaming service’s revenue is pooled over a specific time (often monthly) and then split according to each track’s share of total streams during that time. Artists then receive royalties via their label or distributor, and songwriters via their publisher or collecting society, according to the terms of their contract.

Revenue comes from two main sources: users who pay monthly subscriptions for streaming services, and advertising revenue generated by ad-supported tiers chosen by some users. The proportion varies by region, but in 2025, 74% of global music streaming revenue came from subscription streaming and 26% from ad-supported, according to the IFPI.

There is no ‘per stream’ royalty rate for artists. For most streaming services, all the revenue generated is pooled and then split between artists based on their share of total streams within a specific period (often monthly).

Research shows that more artists than ever are earning a living from music. According to Spotify’s Loud & Clear report, in 2025 over 80,000 artists generated more than $10,000 from Spotify alone – more than double than in 2017. Artists can now instantly access global audiences through streaming, enabling them to reach new listeners. This has opened up new touring opportunities as they build fanbases across the globe.
Streaming has also provided new opportunities for legacy artists, with new generations discovering their music through streaming and fans continuing to stream songs even years after their release. This means those artists can continue to earn income from their music without having to release new versions or compilations.

‘Publishing rights’ are the rights in a composition of a song that’s been written – that is, any combination of rhythm, melody, or lyrics. ‘Master rights’ are the rights in a specific recording that has been made through a process of production and mastering. These are recognized as separate rights. Master royalties are paid to the artist who recorded a track, while publishing royalties are paid to the songwriters or composers who wrote the underlying composition.

This differs across countries and territories. In most cases, the revenue splits for recording artists and songwriters are set through negotiations between multiple stakeholders, including streaming services, record labels, music publishers and collecting societies. Recording artists and songwriters often receive royalties through their respective labels and publishers, with the exact rates dependent on the terms of their specific contract.

Songwriters receive two types of publishing royalties from streaming: mechanical royalties and performance royalties. Mechanical royalties are paid when a physical or digital copy of a song is made (also including CDs, vinyl and digital downloads), while performance royalties are paid whenever a song is publicly performed or broadcast. Streaming involves making a digital copy of a song and delivering a ‘broadcast’ – as a result, songwriters receive both mechanical royalties and performance royalties whenever their songs are streamed.

Rather than paying music creators directly, streaming services pay rights holders (such as record labels and publishers) and distributors, who then pay artists and songwriters according to their individual contracts. This is because these companies specialize in delivering music to streaming services and collecting royalties on behalf of artists and songwriters, processing all the necessary data and dealing with the technical aspects involved.

Across almost all territories, streaming services pay roughly 70% of their revenues to the music industry. Artists’ royalties in different territories might be affected by various factors, including their contracts with local record labels, distributors or managers.
Royalties also vary by country because subscription prices and ad revenue differ across markets. Since royalties are calculated from total revenue pools in each territory, lower revenue in lower-priced markets can lead to lower royalty payments even though the underlying revenue-share model is similar.

Streaming services use listening data and editorial-curated selections to recommend enjoyable new music tailored to the tastes of each individual. These recommendations frequently surface new artists and genres for listeners. Editorial playlists are curated by streaming services’ editorial teams, who select music based on new releases, quality, cultural trends, genres and moods, and regional popularity. Listener data helps identify cultural trends through engagement, such as high save rates, shares, playlist additions, and low skip rates. Some services also have personalized playlists, which are created using machine-learning algorithms to tailor the songs to each individual’s listening habits.

Streaming services provide artist dashboards and other tools that give creators detailed insights into their audience data. They are also taking greater steps to educate artists, publishers, distributors, and labels on how streaming royalties work. Many major services now release regular transparency reports that explain how payouts are calculated and where revenue flows, helping artists to better understand the financial ecosystem behind streaming.

Music piracy was once widespread through illegal downloads, peer-to-peer file sharing, and other means – in 2009 the IFPI estimated that 95% of all music downloads were pirated. This has declined significantly with the rise of streaming as a convenient, affordable, and fully licensed way to access music in the digital age.
Streaming services give listeners legal access to vast global music libraries, reducing the need for pirated content. Between 2017 and 2021, visits to music piracy sites fell by 65% worldwide. However, piracy remains an ongoing threat. Ensuring that streaming stays engaging and affordable is essential for sustaining the music ecosystem and allowing artists and writers to earn a living from their work.

Streaming services support new music and emerging artists in a variety of ways, including:
recommending them to listeners through personalized algorithms
featuring them in curated playlists
investing in artist development programs
providing audience data and visibility tools
working closely with creators, labels, distributors, and publishers to ensure they understand their service
sending push notifications to subscribers of their favorite artists

Streaming services help artists grow their global audience by:
distributing their music instantly worldwide
using algorithms to recommend them to fans in different countries
promoting them through global editorial playlists
offering data and analytics tools designed to help them understand their global audiences
The result is a music ecosystem where an artist can reach listeners in 100+ countries within hours of releasing their music and can continue to grow this global audience over time.

Streaming services support local music scenes and languages through:
region‑specific playlists, which help users connect with music and increase visibility for local artists
promoting local artists through playlist features and regional charts
culturally targeted marketing campaigns using local artists
connecting music in different languages with fan diasporas around the world
giving local artists a global platform, enabling them to connect to a larger audience and generate more opportunities

Streaming fraud techniques are becoming increasingly advanced, particularly with the growing sophistication of AI. In response, streaming services are deploying new tools to maintain the quality of uploaded music, detect fraudulent behavior, and protect artists’ earnings. These systems use machine learning to analyze audio, review metadata, and monitor behavioral patterns to detect suspicious uploads. Tracks linked to fraud are demonetized and removed, helping to ensure that illegitimate activity does not divert revenue from legitimate artists.

AI has made it significantly easier to impersonate artists and infringe their intellectual property and likeness. For example, AI can clone an artist’s voice and generate convincing new performances without their consent, while also imitating their musical styles, production, and lyrical patterns. These tools enable the rapid creation of large volumes of tracks, which can be falsely attributed to real artists. In response to this, streaming services are tightening metadata requirements and providing features that allow artists to approve or reject any release associated with their name before it appears on their profile.