Audio By Carbonatix
People have been listing several reasons to dislike Spotify lately, including astronomically low royalties per stream paid to artists, advertisements for ICE recruitment, and its CEO, Daniel Ek, investing millions in military AI software.
Meanwhile, alternative streaming apps have emerged that offer better sound quality, pay artists more money per individual stream of their songs, and make more ethical financial decisions than Spotify does, which pays artists $0.0032 per stream.
We’ve collected data comparing the compensation paid by different music platforms. Check out these alternative streaming services below:
Apple Music
Per-Stream Royalties: $0.0080 Per Stream
Apple Music is the third-biggest music streaming app behind Spotify and YouTube Music, but it also pays artists almost three times as much as Spotify does, and has better sound quality.
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Bandcamp
Per-Stream Royalties: Individual Purchases Per Song/Album Only
Bandcamp technically isn’t a streaming service, but we wanted to spotlight it as the best way to buy digital music as well as CDs, cassettes and vinyls directly from artists. It’s also worth noting that if purchases are made on monthly Bandcamp Fridays, 100 percent of your purchase will exclusively go to the artists.
Qobuz
Per-Stream Royalties: $0.0187 Per Stream (Best)
Given the relative obscurity of Qobuz, it is a delightful surprise to see so many local musicians on the service and benefiting from the highest royalties of any streaming service. Considering that and the degree of discography coverage on the platform, there are very few downsides to switching over to the service beyond a lack of podcasts and audiobooks.
Soundcloud
Per-Stream Royalties: $0.0025 Per Stream
Famously great for discovering undiscovered artists and the most obscure music, Soundcloud is much less of a priority for more established groups. Still, you can find some interesting early work from some of these artists that you can’t find anywhere else.
Tidal
Per-Stream Royalties: $0.0128 Per Stream
Between high royalty rates, good coverage, and potentially the best sound quality in the streaming industry, there’s a lot to like about Tidal. However, searching for local artists can be a challenge, as the software often hides them beneath better-known artists with similar names. We’re recommending this for high payment alone.
