Spotify’s royalty rate is at an all-time low. The revenue earned per stream has reduced from $0.007 to $0.0028 since 2013. Currently, to make $8.7 on Spotify, you have to garner at least 3,114 streams. You should also note that the royalty payout can differ depending on the region.
In 2013, Spotify bragged about paying $0.007 per stream and doling out nothing less than $1 billion in five years, according to a BBC report. However, the current reality is a sad one, especially for indie artists that can no longer depend on their Spotify streams or album sales to earn a decent living. They have to depend on tours and merch sales to survive in the 21st century.
There are a few ways in which artists can maximize their Spotify royalty payout even though you should not neglect touring and merch sales. In this guide, we will teach you how to boost your Spotify stream share for singles and albums.
Spotify vs Artists: The Tussle for Better Pay
The luxurious lifestyle displayed by artists is a contributing factor to the increasing number of musicians in every genre, particularly Hip Hop. How can anyone not love the sparkling diamond grillz and chains, the hippity hoppity lowriders, and the abundance of well-rounded blondes?
People see music as an escape from poverty aka the hood, trenches, or gutter; until reality hits them unannounced. Then, they realise that their idols balled on advances (loans) from labels and most of them couldn’t pay back the loans to date.
Artists like Meek Mill, NBA Youngboy and Kanye West have opened up about their unfair 360 contracts and reasons upcoming artists should stay independent. NBA YoungBoy issued a clear warning to upcoming artists in an Instagram post. In the post, he said, “don’t sign to Atlantic unless you want to be a slave”. Even though the slave part is exaggerated, I trust that you get the message.
Spotify is no stranger to public criticisms from artists who feel they deserve more than the miserly Spotify payout pinched out to artists every 3 months. Artists like Taylor Swift, Amanda Palmer, Thom York, Kanye West, and Pocket gods.
Recently, Pocket gods, a British Lo-fi indie band from St Albans, released a 1,000-track diss album (1000×30 – Nobody Makes Money Anymore) targeted at Spotify. The leader of the band, Mark Christopher Lee revealed that the album was inspired by a 2015 article (titled How streaming is changing everything we know about making music) by a music professor known as Mike Erico.
The protest album caught the attention of Spotify’s head of artist relations, Daniel Ek, and he fostered peace talks with the band. According to an iNews interview with Christopher Lee, Daniel lauded the idea of recording 30s tracks and in his words, the pocket gods were “ahead of the curve of shorter songs in the future”. While the protest could not force Spotify to increase its payout, it opened the doors of editorial playlists to 30 seconds tracks. As claimed by Christopher, “They said that I can pitch 30-second tracks to their playlists [drivers of chart hits] for consideration – I wasn’t able to do this previously as the songs were considered too short.”
How to boost your Spotify stream share for singles and albums
The current streaming era favours artists who adapt and might force those who do not conform into extinction. In this section, we will discuss how the global music sphere has changed and how artists can increase their payouts.
Write shorter songs
Like TikTok, Spotify wants people to spend quality time on their platform. And they have figured out that the current generation barely consumes lengthy music. Hence, the shorter, the better.
While you don’t have to take it to the extreme by releasing a 1,000-track album like pocket gods, you want to keep your music between 1:30 – 2:30 minutes. The trick is to make addictive short songs that would make the listeners put your song on repeat. Remember, the more they repeat your songs, the higher your royalty check.
Also, you have to study your genre to know what duration is acceptable. Genres like classical, Fuji, and Akpala require longer song durations unlike Lo-fi pop, RnB, rap, and afrobeat.
Singles not albums
Armed with the ability to submit short songs for playlist consideration, artists have a higher chance of making more money from streaming than before. However, Spotify does not accept album playlisting; it only allows musicians to send one song for playlist consideration.
The Spotify streaming system “hates” album release. It rewards consistency over bulk release, hence it is better to put out a single for
the next 5 fortnights than to drop a 10 track album. In a case where an artist intends to feed and grow their fanbase, releasing a mixtape can save the day. But make no mistake, Spotify barely appreciates such gestures.
Make music for specific purposes and cultures
To successfully map out a promotion campaign for your next single, you ought to know its unique selling point. Is it a potential hood classic, a club banger, a certified library classic, or a song for the beach?
Unless you have a clear idea of how your music can be beneficial to the song’s listener, you cannot promote it the right way.
In case you are not sure, there is no need to pressure yourself. You can ask your loved ones, mentors or team members for their honest opinions on your music and how it can be best consumed. Trust me; you will be amazed by the responses you’d get.
Final Thoughts
Different times call for different approaches. While making money solely from one’s music has become more difficult, it is not impossible. You just have to be tactical and diligent.
