Shocking Artist Revenue Revealed In 2021 Spotify Payout Figures

Spotify has revealed its revenue distribution figures for 2021.

It announced that it paid an overall $US7 billion to artists last year, as per an article published by Loud And Clear. 

Shockingly, the streaming giant said that only 56,200 musicians globally received more than $US10,000, with 130 of them paid more than $5 million.

Many of the 56,200 would personally earn less than $US10,000 following labels, publishers and other songwriters taking cuts, leaving musicians with even less revenue. 

Spotify has consistently come under fire for its low payment to artists, with the likes of David Byrne, Tony Visconti and David Crosby recently criticising the platform. 

In a report conducted by Digital Music News, it was found that in North America, artists would be required to achieve between 300,000 and 400,000 streams per month to surpass the national minimum wage.

This effectively means, in Australia, no "small" artist would earn minimum wage based purely on the streaming of their music.

Spotify owner Daniel Ek's investments have also come under significant criticism by artists globally, with Ek investing 100 million euros to Helsing.ai, an Artificial Intelligence company that develops national security technology.

Last November, Australian producer b l u e s c r e e n removed their music from Spotify. He stated, "War is hell. There’s nothing ethical about it, no matter how you spin it.

"I also left because it became apparent very quickly that Spotify’s CEO, as all billionaires, only got rich off the exploitation of others. As an artist, I cannot morally agree with inadequate payments of royalties to those whose entire livelihood is the reason for Daniel Ek’s success.”