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Royalty calculator
A rough idea of what streams pay, and how the money divides between the recording (the “master”) and the song (the publishing side). These are estimates from dated averages, not a promise of any income.
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Rough estimate · not a promise
| Track | Money and who pays it | Estimate |
|---|---|---|
| A1 | RecordingPaid by your distributor, about monthly. The two copyrights | |
| B1 | Song: mechanicalPaid by The MLC, monthly, if the song is registered there. The MLC | |
| B2 | Song: performance, writer halfPaid by your PRO, quarterly, if the song is registered. PROs | |
| B3 | Song: performance, publisher halfPaid by your PRO. No publisher? BMI pays it to you; ASCAP doesn’t. The publisher share |
Spotify pays no recording money on a track with under 1,000 streams in the last 12 months. That rule covers the recording only, not the song. Spotify also asks for a minimum number of listeners, and doesn’t say how many.
The rates behind this estimate
Rough US averages per 1,000 streams, read from Manatt’s U.S. Music Streaming Royalty Calculator on November 4, 2026. Manatt is a law firm that works from payment data and updates its rates monthly, about three months behind the plays. They aren’t official rates from the services.
| Store | Recording | Song: mechanical | Song: performance | Total | Song’s share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | $3.79 | $0.37 | $0.61 | $4.77 | 21% |
| Apple Music | $6.53 | $0.78 | $0.88 | $8.19 | 20% |
| Amazon Music | $7.68 | $1.13 | $1.00 | $9.81 | 22% |
How we get the range
- The high end is the US average above. Your streams can pay more than this too. It isn’t a ceiling.
- The low end is 60% of it. That’s our own rough allowance for streams from other countries and free listeners, which pay less. One published set of royalty statements put the median Spotify payout at $2.24 per 1,000 streams, through July 2026, about 60% of Manatt’s recording figure. That source doesn’t say how many statements it used.
- Performance money is shown as two equal halves, because PROs pay 50% to writers and 50% to publishers.
What it leaves out
- PRO fees and any publisher’s or administrator’s cut. Publishers can also have direct deals with the services that change these numbers.
- Other stores, such as YouTube and TikTok, because Manatt doesn’t cover them.
- Streams outside the US on the song side. The MLC covers US streams only; other countries pay through their own societies.
- Any change to Spotify’s bundle reporting. Manatt notes that Spotify reports 98% of subscriptions as bundles, with only 52% of that revenue counted as music for mechanical royalties. That helps explain why Spotify’s mechanical rate looks low next to Apple’s.
Read more in the guide
- Every song is two copyrights: why one stream pays two different groups of people.
- The MLC and streaming mechanicals: how the song’s mechanical money reaches you.
- Performance royalties and PROs: BMI versus ASCAP, and when the money arrives.
- Common money leaks: fourteen ways this money goes unclaimed.
Questions
How much does Spotify pay per stream?
There’s no fixed rate. As a rough US average, about $4.77 per 1,000 streams for the recording and the song together, or about half a cent a stream, going by Manatt’s calculator on November 4, 2026. Streams from other countries and free listeners pay less. Spotify also pays no recording money on a track with under 1,000 streams in the last 12 months.
Why isn’t there one exact rate?
Streaming services don’t pay per stream. They put a share of each country’s income into a pool and divide it by share of listening. So a stream’s value moves with the country, the listener’s plan, ad prices and the month. Any per-stream number, including ours, is an average worked out afterwards.
Why is the song’s share so much smaller than the recording’s?
That’s how the services’ deals are set. In the US, on-demand services owe songwriters and publishers 15.3% of their revenue in 2026 as an “all-in” figure, with performance royalties subtracted from it. Apple has said it pays labels a 52% headline rate. Spotify’s own numbers point the same way: about $5 billion to publishers and songwriter organizations over two years, out of roughly $21 billion in total payouts, or about a quarter.
Does this include SoundExchange or AM/FM radio?
No. This covers on-demand streams only, where the listener picks the song. Digital radio money comes through SoundExchange, AM/FM radio pays songwriters through their PROs, and live shows, YouTube and sync are separate too.
Will I actually get this much?
Don’t count on it. It’s a rough estimate, not a promise. You only get the song money if the song is registered with a PRO and The MLC, and real statements can be well above or below these numbers. Each collector also takes its own fees and pays on its own timetable.
Sources
Checked on November 4, 2026.
- Manatt: U.S. Music Streaming Royalty Calculator (the rates, read by entering 1,000,000 streams)
- 37 CFR 385.21: the 2026 rate of 15.3% of revenue
- Spotify for Artists: track monetization eligibility (the 1,000-stream rule)
- Spotify’s Loud & Clear report, as covered by Music Week, March 11, 2026 (2025 payouts)
- Music Week on the 2024 payouts ($10 billion)
- Apple Music’s letter to artists, April 2021 (the 52% rate)
- Dynamoi: what streaming platforms pay per stream (the $2.24 median)
This tool is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Fees and rules change: check the official site on the day you sign up. For a big deal, such as a sync offer, a label contract or selling a catalogue, pay a music lawyer for an hour.