Spotify is flexing its numbers again. This time they are claiming they paid out $15.79 billion AUD in royalties to artists in 2024. They have since labelled the payout as the ‘largest in music industry history.’
But while the streaming giant celebrates its record-breaking payouts, artists continue to call foul on its royalty system, questioning how much of that money actually reaches the people making the music.
According to Spotify’s latest Loud and Clear report, 1,500 artists ostensibly earned over $1 million in royalties last year, while the number of musicians generating between $1,000 (£770) and $10 million annually has tripled since 2017. But the platform was quick to shift responsibility, stating that it pays rights-holders—not artists directly. This leaves labels, publishers, and collection societies to divide up the cash between themselves.
This lack of transparency has fuelled ongoing backlash. The Songwriter of the Year nominees at this year’s Grammys—including Jessi Alexander, Amy Allen, Jessie Jo Dillon, and RAYE— all boycotted Spotify’s official party. Many of them vocalising their frustrations by stating that they refuse to celebrate a platform that blatantly undervalues their work.
While these criticisms of Spotify are not new, they do now seem to be more fierce. Björk has long been one of Spotify’s most vocal detractors, doubling down earlier this year on her long-standing issues with the service. “It’s probably the worst thing that has happened to musicians,” she said, echoing her 2015 stance when she kept her album Vulnicura off Spotify “out of respect” for the craft.
“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.”
Spotify, however, remains unfazed by the controversy. It recently won a lawsuit over a controversial bundling strategy that lowered royalty payments for songwriters after incorporating audiobooks into its premium subscription.
For all its record-breaking payouts, the question remains: if artists still feel shortchanged, is Spotify really helping the industry—or just the people cashing the cheques? And should we as listeners be comfortable consuming music for free?
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