Track monetization eligibility

In November 2023, we announced new policies to help protect and strengthen our music royalty ecosystem for emerging and professional artists.

As of April 2024, these policies are in effect for all artists.

Learn more about the new policies

Starting in April 2024, tracks must have reached a threshold of at least 1,000 streams in the previous 12 months to be included in the recorded music royalty pool calculation.

There's also a minimum number of unique listeners required for a track to become eligible to ensure users can’t game the system by streaming the track hundreds of times in order to qualify. We don't share this number publicly to prevent further manipulation by bad actors.

Our goal is to be as transparent as possible about the policy so artists can understand exactly how and when they’ll generate royalties on Spotify.

Watch our “How the Money Flows” explainer video for a refresher on how royalties on Spotify work.

• How much more money will be paid out to emerging and professional artists as a result of the change?

  Tens of millions of dollars per year.

  Tracks with between 1 and 1,000 annual streams generate $0.03 per month on average and only represent 0.5% of total streams and royalties generated from Spotify. In the aggregate though, that money adds up to tens of millions of dollars per year.

  Moving forward, that money is reallocated by streamshare to increase the payments going to eligible tracks.

  Put simply: Each of the eligible tracks on Spotify will generate 0.5% more royalties as a result of this policy.

• Where is this money coming from?

  There are significant operational expenses and liabilities taken on by distributors to collect and pay out royalties to artists who use their service.

  Understandably, music distributors typically charge artists a banking fee to withdraw earnings (usually $1-$20 per withdrawal) and have minimum amounts required for withdrawal (usually $2-$50).

  On average, tracks with under 1,000 annual streams on Spotify are generating $0.03 per month. This money often never reaches the uploader because it doesn’t hit the minimums and fees that would make it worth withdrawing, meaning — in aggregate — significant money is wasted or forgotten about.

  These small disregarded payments have added up to tens of millions of dollars per year that will instead increase the payments to artists who are most dependent on streaming revenue.

• Does Spotify make money from this change?

  No, Spotify doesn't make money from this change.

  The size of the royalty pool remains unchanged — roughly two-thirds of every dollar Spotify earns from music. The only change is how that royalty pool is allocated to artist rights holders, increasing the payout to the recordings earning more material amounts.

  We'll continue to calculate separate royalty pools for each of Spotify’s 180+ markets. This policy won't lead to any change in the size of the royalty pool paid out from each market, ensuring the money will continue to be invested back into the artistic communities impacting their local culture.

• Does this change impact publishing royalties?

  No. There will be no changes to how publishing royalties are calculated for now. This eligibility calculation only applies to recording royalties.

• How will royalties be calculated under this new policy?

  Recording royalties are typically calculated at the end of each month based on streamshare. For example, if a track received 1% of all streams on Spotify, it would receive 1% of that month’s royalty pool.

  Previously, all music streams on Spotify were included in this streamshare calculation.

  Under this new policy, each month, Spotify now calculates streamshare just for eligible tracks — those that have received at least 1,000 streams globally in the previous 12 months.

  In practice, that means a track generates royalties for all streams in the first month it reaches eligibility — but not for streams from any month prior.

  If a track is streamed over 1,000 times in its first calendar month on platform, all streams will be included in the streamshare calculation that month. If, for example, a track is streamed 750 times in its first calendar month on platform, and 500 times in its second month, that track would generate royalties for all 500 streams in that second month (as well as for streams in subsequent months, as long as it remains eligible).

• Can a track go in and out of eligibility?

  Yes. Each month, all tracks that have been streamed at least 1,000 times globally in the previous 12 months will be included in streamshare calculations for royalties.

  A track can go from eligible to ineligible to eligible again as popularity changes over time.

• How will this policy disincentivize artificial streaming?

  This policy introduces another disincentive for certain kinds of artificial streaming — particularly high volume schemes where bad actors deliver hundreds or thousands of recordings, earning small amounts on each.

  Learn about our tips for artists to avoid artificial streaming schemes in this Game Plan episode.

• Can a user just stream their own songs 1,000 times to become eligible?

  No. As part of the policy, there's a minimum number of unique listeners required for a track to become eligible. This ensures that a handful of users can’t stream the track hundreds of times each to become eligible.

  We don't share publicly what that minimum is to prevent bad actors from gaming the system. Of course, our industry leading artificial streaming detection systems will continue to remove artificial streams as identified.

• How will I know if my track is eligible for recorded royalties each month?

  To help understand which tracks might be eligible for royalties each month, you can check the Last 12 months filter on the Music page in Spotify for Artists. Once you’ve applied that filter, you’ll be able to easily view the annual stream count for each of your tracks. While this will help provide an estimate, it's not a guarantee that a track will be eligible for recorded royalties. Please continue to refer to your royalty reports from your label or distributor as the best source of truth.

• Why didn't my track generate recording royalties even though it has over 1,000 streams in Spotify for Artists?

  Tracks need to receive at least 1,000 annual streams as well as meet the threshold for minimum number of unique listeners required. Stream counts in Spotify for Artists aren't always reflective of royalty-eligible streams. Therefore, data in Spotify for Artists should be used to provide a helpful estimate of track monetization eligibility, but not a guarantee. Please continue to refer to your royalty reports from your label or distributor as the best source of truth.

• As an artist, how can I grow my streams?

  Spotify for Artists offers a number of tools and resources for you to grow your fanbase, including ways to tap into streaming from editorial playlists, personalized sets, and listeners’ active streaming.

  Visit our Made to Be Found site for more

• How does Spotify define a “track” for this policy?

  The eligibility threshold is applied to each unique recording of a song, which may exist as more than one track on Spotify.

  Each unique sound recording has to separately qualify to generate royalties.

  Technically speaking, this means each ISRC (international sound recording code) has to qualify.

  It can depend on the distributor, but single and album versions of a song should share one ISRC, while a live version and acoustic version should have unique ISRC codes when delivered to Spotify.

  Note: Spotify has its own systems to categorize unique recordings, which, in rare cases, can differ from ISRC.