Apple Music pays as much as 90% more per stream than Spotify

A new royalty calculator created by consultancy Manatt and endorsed by Billboard shows the gap between royalty payouts by Spotify and those from Apple Music.

For example, a song that gets 1 million streams on Spotify earns $3,700 for sound recording owners, $591 in mechanical royalties, and $506 in performance royalties, with $2,279 remaining with Spotify.

That same 1 million stream on Apple Music pays out an estimated $7,085 for sound recording owners or 91% more than the $3700 paid by Spotify. The 1 million streams on Apple also generate $899 in mechanical royalties and $819 in performance royalties, with $2,551 staying with Apple.

The gaps in payments between the services are primarily caused by the lower income earned from the 348 million who use Spotify’s free ad-supported tier. All Apple Music subscribers pay for the service.

Artists and labels can use the same calculator to estimate their earnings.

MORE: Manatt’s music streaming royalty calculator is the best we’ve seen

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.