Let’s break down how money works in music streaming.

Spotify Royalties

  • A million streams on Spotify pays around $3,000 on the master side.
  • That money comes through your distributor (like DistroKid or CD Baby).
  • DistroKid pays you directly because you pay a flat fee—they don’t take a cut.

Now the composition side:

  • Streaming triggers a mechanical royalty—collected by the MLC (sign up for free).
  • You get around $600 from the MLC for a million streams.
  • You’ll also get paid by your PRO (ASCAP, BMI, etc.), about $1,000.

So total for 1M streams?
Roughly $4,600 (Master + MLC + PRO)


Digital Downloads

  • If someone buys your song on iTunes for $1:
    • You get 70 cents (iTunes keeps 30%).
    • You also get a mechanical royalty from HFA.
    • Statutory rate is 9.1 cents, minus 15% = about 7 cents.
    • Longer songs (5+ mins) pay more.

SoundExchange

  • Want to earn from non-interactive streams (like Pandora or SiriusXM)?
    • Sign up with SoundExchange.
    • A million plays could earn you around $1,000 here too.

Want to make it easier?

  • Sign up with SongTrust.
    • $100 one-time fee.
    • They take 15% but collect from MLC, HFA, PROs, and more—worldwide.
    • You keep 100% of your rights.

Simplified Setup:
Distributor + PRO + SoundExchange + SongTrust = You’re covered.


 

 

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