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Writer's pictureArashk Azizi

How much money can I earn from digital distribution?

Today distributing music through digital platforms is not complicated or exclusive. Everyone can do it from their home. But how much will you get paid for distributing your music?



We all know about the decreasing number of digital album sales every year. Let’s not talk about physical sales at all. If you are an independent artist, how many albums do you think you will sell on a platform like iTunes or Amazon music?


It is sad but true. Not many artists have the opportunity to earn a considerable amount of money from their album sales. Yet there is the option of digital streaming. It is an increasing industry and day by day more people start using streaming services.


Also, it is really easier for your friends and fans to just listen to your music on a streaming platform than to purchase it from a digital store. You can also promote your music by playlists in Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Amazon, YouTube Music, and almost any other streaming platform. Of course, Spotify is the most convenient platform for independent musicians with a vast variety of tools in the Spotify for Artists panel.


Let’s say that you release an album and spend some money on your promotion, and receive a considerable amount of listens too. How much money will you make out of it?


There are many factors that will affect your income:


  • Which platform is streaming your music?

  • What kind of user is streaming your music? (Premium or Freemium)

  • How long of your music has been streamed?

  • What kind of ownership do you have of your music?

  • Is your music original or cover?


With all these factors, we can say that the average range of payment for a piece of music on a streaming platform, is approximately four dollars for every one thousand streams.


Here you can see some examples of invoices from different platforms, given by CD Baby. please keep in mind that there is a three to four-month delay for your payments. It means that you receive the payment of your December streams in March of the next year.


below I will share some screenshots from my own music revenue on different platforms to give you a better sense of how it works.





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