I Run an Indie Label. And Here’s What Spotify, Rhapsody & Zune Are Paying Us

If Spotify, Rhapsody, or other streaming services won’t answer the question, maybe indie labels and artists will.  These figures are from an independent catalog of 87 albums and 1,280 songs, as posted on The Trichordist.  On Spotify, they seem consistent with reports of per-song payouts of roughly one-third to one-half of a penny.

 

per source: “Payable to Artist/Label via digital distributor for sales from July to December, 2011.”

 

(Rhapsody purchased Napster last year, though the Napster name continues in various European territories.)

 

Zune

 

15,159 plays

 

Payout = $437.58

 

$0.028 per song

 

Ratio = 25:1 iTunes Song Download

 

 

 

Napster

 

30,238 plays

 

Payout = $479.07

 

$0.016 per song

 

Ratio = 43:1 iTunes song download.

 

 

 

Rhapsody

 

50,822 plays

 

Payout = $668.57

 

$0.013 per song

 

Ratio = 53:1 iTunes song download.

 

 

 

Spotify

 

798,783 plays.

 

Payout = $4,277.39

 

$0.005 per song.

 

Ratio = 140:1 iTunes Song Download!!!