Spotify claims it paid £7.7bn in royalties, amid criticism from artists

Spotify has claimed it has paid $10bn (£7.7bn) in royalties in 2024, the largest payout to the music industry in a single year.

The streaming service said 1,500 artists earned over $1 million in royalties, marking a 10-fold increase in its yearly payout figure from 2024, where $1 billion was given overall.

In a report looking at payments of royalties, Spotify called their 2024 payouts “the largest in music industry history”, and compared itself to Tower Records at the peak of the CD era in the early 2000s.

However, this comes as artists and industry figures continue to criticise the streaming service over streaming earnings. Earlier this year, nominees for the Songwriter Of The Year category at this year’s Grammy Awards decided to boycott Spotify‘s party for the ceremony.

The likes of Jessi Alexander, Amy Allen, Jessie Jo Dillon and RAYE – who have all been nominated for Songwriter Of The Year have announced they will be skipping the streaming platform’s celebratory bash and will also not be performing at the event.

However, Spotify said it pays royalties to rights holders, explaining that it does not have “visibility” on where the money ultimately goes as it is dependent on the artists’ individual contracts with their labels – according to BBC News.

A spokesperson said: “Spotify does not pay artists or songwriters directly. We pay rights-holders, these are typically record labels, music publishers, collection societies. These rights-holders then pay artists and songwriters based on their individual agreements.”

Also in Spotify’s Loud and Clear report, the company said it increased the more than $9bn (£7bn) it handed over in 2023. It also stated that the number of artists generating annual royalties between $1,000 (£770) and $10m had tripled since 2017.

Earlier this year, Björk also said that she thinks Spotify is “probably the worst thing that has happened to musicians”. This wasn’t the first time that Björk has shared her thoughts on the streaming platform. Back in 2015, she also opened up about her decision not to release her album ‘Vulnicura’ on Spotify out of “respect” principles.

“It just seems insane,” she said at the time. “To work on something for two or three years and then just, ‘Oh, here it is for free’. It’s not about the money; it’s about respect. Respect for the craft and the amount of work you put into it.”

In other Spotify-related news, the streaming giant won a lawsuit over a bundling strategy it adopted, which led to decreased royalty payments to songwriters. This came after the streaming company introduced a new audiobooks bundle to its premium subscription last year.

Spotify has been heavily criticised in recent months most recently after hosting a brunch one day before Donald Trump’s inauguration and donating $150,000 (£122,000) to the official ceremony.

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