Spotify’s Royalty Payouts in 2025
Spotify announced it paid over $11 billion to the music industry in 2025, a $1 billion increase from the previous year, representing about 30% of the industry’s total revenue. However, this amount goes to “rightsholders” like labels and publishers, with artists typically receiving only a fraction of these royalties. Approximately half of the payouts went to independent artists, with over 12,500 artists earning more than $100,000. Spotify plans to address criticisms and increase human curation amid ongoing artist complaints about lower payouts compared to competitors.
