In an open letter being sent to artists today (below), Apple for the first time broke down how it pays artists for streams on the service. It said the average play rate is $0.01 per stream, but it didn’t break down specific streaming rates that vary based on geography and discounted Apple Music plans.
Some of the highlights:
Apple said it paid an average of $0.01 per stream
And the same 52% headline rate to all labels
Royalties were paid out for more than 5 million recording artists around the world in 2020
The number of artists that generated recording and publishing royalties over $1 million per year increased over 120% since 2017
The number of recording artists that generated over $50,000 per year has more than doubled.
Apple said the open letter will be part of a new ongoing series to keep artists informed:
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