Among the big services, Tidal pays artists the most per stream in 2026, at roughly $0.012 to $0.015. Apple Music follows at about $0.008 to $0.010. Spotify and Amazon Music pay the least, around $0.003 to $0.005 (Ones To Watch). Pay per stream is only half the story, though. How much an artist earns depends on the payout model and on where the listeners are.
Per-stream rates side by side
| Service | Estimated pay per stream | Payout model |
|---|---|---|
| fjalla | 1.2 cents to the artist | Pay-per-play, fixed |
| Tidal | $0.012 to $0.015 | Pro-rata pool |
| Apple Music | $0.008 to $0.010 | Pro-rata pool |
| YouTube Music | $0.002 to $0.008 | Pool, Premium and ads |
| Deezer | $0.003 to $0.006 | Artist-centric pool |
| Spotify | $0.003 to $0.005 | Pro-rata pool, 1,000 stream minimum |
| Amazon Music | about $0.004 | Pro-rata pool |
The pool figures are third-party estimates from payout data. None of the big services publish an official per-stream rate (Royalty Exchange). They also show the gross payout to the rights holder, before label or distributor splits.
Why Tidal and Apple Music pay more
Both services have no free tier, or only a small one. Every stream comes from a paying subscriber, and fewer plays share each subscription. That raises the value of each play. Apple has said its average rate is about one cent per stream (Royalty Exchange).
Spotify, YouTube and Amazon have huge free or bundled audiences. Ad money and cheap plans spread across billions of plays, so the average falls.
The models behind the numbers
Pro-rata pool. The service collects all money in a country, keeps its cut, and divides the rest by share of total streams. Your fan's subscription mostly pays the artists with the biggest stream counts, not you. We explain this in Streaming Royalties Explained.
Spotify's 1,000 stream minimum. On top of the pool, Spotify pays nothing for tracks under 1,000 streams a year. See Spotify 1,000 Stream Minimum Explained.
Artist-centric (Deezer). Deezer and Universal Music launched a model in 2023 that counts streams from "professional" artists double. An artist qualifies with at least 1,000 monthly streams from 500 unique listeners. Songs fans search for and save actively get a further boost (Music Week). Critics point out that this helps established artists more than newcomers (Fortune).
Pay-per-play (fjalla). There is no pool. The fan pays 2.1 cents for each play and the artist earns 1.2 cents of it. The difference covers app store, payment and platform fees. Every play pays the artist who made it, from the first stream, at the same rate in every country. More in What Is Fair Music Streaming.
What the rate means in practice
Take 100,000 streams a month:
| Service | Gross per month |
|---|---|
| fjalla (artist share) | about €1,200 |
| Tidal | $1,200 to $1,500 |
| Apple Music | $800 to $1,000 |
| Spotify | $300 to $500 |
Tidal's per-stream rate matches pay-per-play on paper. But Tidal's audience is small, and its rate still depends on the pool. A pay-per-play rate does not move when other people stream more.
Which service should artists focus on?
Release everywhere. Reach matters, and Spotify and YouTube are where people discover music. Then send your most loyal fans to the place where each play is worth the most to you. A fan who streams your album 50 times is worth $0.20 to you on Spotify and €0.60 on fjalla.
Try your own numbers in the royalty calculator, or read our Spotify alternatives that pay artists more.
FAQ
Which streaming service pays artists the most per stream?
Among the major services, Tidal pays the most at about $0.012 to $0.015 per stream, followed by Apple Music at $0.008 to $0.010. Pay-per-play services like fjalla pay the artist a fixed 1.2 cents per play.
Which streaming service pays artists the least?
Spotify and Amazon Music pay the least on average, around $0.003 to $0.005 per stream. YouTube Music can pay even less on ad-supported plays.
Why does Spotify pay so little per stream?
Spotify has hundreds of millions of free listeners and cheap plans. The money is split across billions of plays, so each stream is worth less.
Is Deezer's artist-centric model better for artists?
It is better for artists with at least 1,000 monthly streams from 500 listeners, because their streams count double. Smaller artists gain little or lose share.
What is the fairest way to pay artists for streams?
Paying a fixed amount for every play, directly to the artist who made it. That is the pay-per-play model fjalla uses: the fan pays 2.1 cents, the artist earns 1.2 cents.
