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Apple Music’s estimated average payout to independent artists was more than twice Spotify’s in 2024, according to Duetti’s Music Economics Report. Duetti estimated $6.20 per 1,000 Apple Music streams, compared with $3.00 per 1,000 Spotify streams—a ratio of approximately 2.07 to 1.
That does not mean Apple Music guarantees every artist $0.0062 per stream, or that moving a catalog to Apple Music will automatically double an artist’s income. The figures are implied averages from a specific dataset, not fixed prices.
What Duetti’s 2024 report found
Duetti’s comparison focused primarily on recorded-music income from independent artists, with an emphasis on the United States and United Kingdom. Its expanded dataset also included additional services, territories, artists and revenue streams, so the figures should not be treated as a universal global rate card.
| Service | Estimated dollars per 1,000 streams | Approximate per-stream equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Music | $8.80 | $0.0088 |
| Apple Music | $6.20 | $0.0062 |
| YouTube | $4.80 | $0.0048 |
| Spotify | $3.00 | $0.0030 |
Apple Music’s estimate was $3.20 higher per 1,000 streams. Dividing $6.20 by $3.00 gives approximately 2.07, meaning Apple Music’s estimated average was about 106.7% higher than Spotify’s in Duetti’s 2024 dataset. Duetti estimated the average across the services it included at $3.41 per 1,000 streams and described the overall figure as broadly stable compared with 2023.
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These are 2024 results reported in January 2025—not confirmed 2026 platform rates.
Why Apple Music’s estimated average was higher
Duetti attributed the difference partly to the structure and audience mix of each service. Apple Music does not offer a standard ad-supported free listening tier, and it has comparatively strong exposure to higher-price markets. Those factors can raise the average revenue associated with a stream.
Spotify’s measured average can be pulled down by several factors, including:
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- ad-supported listening;
- discounted, student and family plans;
- lower-priced markets;
- Spotify’s very large usage volume; and
- streams associated with Discovery Mode, which can involve reduced royalty rates under its terms.
This does not mean every Spotify stream is subject to a reduction, nor does it mean advertising alone explains the entire gap. YouTube’s estimated $4.80 per 1,000 streams was above Spotify’s figure but below Apple Music’s, despite YouTube’s substantial advertising-based listening.
“Per-stream rate” is an estimate, not a posted price
Streaming services generally do not pay a single, universal amount for every play. Spotify explains that its royalty system uses a stream-share model: revenue is pooled by market and distributed according to a rights holder’s share of eligible streams.
The effective value of a stream can therefore change with the listener’s country, subscription type, total platform revenue, listening behavior, rights agreements and intermediary deductions. A chart saying Spotify pays $0.003 per stream is shorthand for an observed or calculated average—not a contractual Spotify tariff.
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The same caution applies to Duetti’s Apple Music estimate. “Apple Music paid $6.20 per 1,000 streams” is a useful comparison of average efficiency in the report’s dataset. “Apple Music guarantees $0.0062 for every stream” is not an accurate interpretation.
How much does the artist actually receive?
The money counted in a platform-level comparison may first go to a label, distributor, publisher, collecting society or another rights holder. The artist’s eventual payment depends on contracts, ownership and deductions.
- Platform payout: money sent into the rights ecosystem for uses of the music.
- Master recording income: revenue connected to the sound recording.
- Publishing income: separate revenue connected to the underlying composition.
- Artist royalty: the amount that reaches the performer after contractual splits, recoupment, fees, taxes and other deductions.
- Neighboring and performance rights: separate rights-income categories that may be collected through different systems.
An independent artist who owns the master and distributes it directly may retain substantially more of the platform payment than an artist working under a traditional label agreement. But the terms vary, and Duetti’s average should not be converted into a guaranteed take-home amount.
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Apple Music’s frequently cited “52%” figure is also easy to misunderstand. Apple Music for Artists describes it as a headline rate paid to labels; it is not a promise that every performer receives 52% of streaming revenue.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Spotify disputes the comparison
Spotify rejected the idea that major services pay a fixed amount per stream and disputed Duetti’s figures and methodology. Its position is that per-stream comparisons based on unattributed or estimated numbers can be misleading. Spotify instead emphasizes growing engagement, Premium subscriptions and the total money distributed to the music industry.
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| Duetti’s comparison | Spotify’s payout framing |
|---|---|
| Estimated dollars per 1,000 streams | Total royalties paid across the platform |
| Primarily an independent-artist dataset | Spotify-wide industry totals |
| Useful for comparing estimated stream value | Useful for measuring aggregate payment scale |
Spotify’s larger total payout claim does not directly disprove Duetti’s per-1,000-stream estimate. The two figures answer different questions: one concerns average revenue efficiency in a defined dataset, while the other measures total money distributed across a much larger platform ecosystem.
Does this mean artists should prioritize Apple Music?
Not necessarily. A higher estimated rate matters, but total income depends on how many listeners an artist reaches and what rights or contracts govern the money.
Artists should compare:
- listener geography and the effective value of those listeners;
- audience size on each service;
- free, discounted, family, student, bundled and Premium listening;
- master and publishing ownership;
- label, distributor and collection-society deductions;
- playlist, recommendation and discovery opportunities;
- fan retention and the ability to convert listeners into direct supporters;
- payment delays, withdrawal minimums and reporting quality; and
- non-streaming income such as touring, merchandise, subscriptions and licensing.
For example, suppose an artist receives 100,000 estimated Apple Music streams. Applying Duetti’s average gives a gross platform-level estimate of $620. If the same artist receives 500,000 Spotify streams at Duetti’s estimated $3 per 1,000, the equivalent estimate is $1,500. This is only an illustration, not a forecast, but it shows why a lower average rate can still produce more income when a platform delivers a substantially larger audience.
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What independent artists should take from the report
The practical lesson is not to chase a headline rate in isolation. Distributing to all relevant services may be sensible, but changing distributors does not change Apple Music’s or Spotify’s underlying royalty pool. A distributor’s own fees, revenue share, reporting, payment threshold and included services can materially affect what the artist receives.
Spotify notes that payment timing and withdrawal minimums can vary through distributors and other intermediaries. A small catalog may generate many streams yet remain below a withdrawal threshold, while a song can produce substantial activity without yielding much artist income if someone else controls the relevant rights.
The report is best used as one benchmark: in Duetti’s 2024 independent-artist dataset, Apple Music produced a higher estimated average per 1,000 streams than Spotify. Account-level earnings, listener geography and ownership terms are still more important for deciding where an individual artist should focus promotion.
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