How Much Does Apple Music Pay Per Stream in 2024

If you’re releasing music on Apple Music, best believe there’s potential to rake in some serious revenue in the form of streaming royalties. But what’s the average amount of money you can expect to earn for a single stream of your track on Apple Music? And better yet - how does it compare to the platform’s biggest rival Spotify? Read on to find out!

How much does Apple Music pay per stream?

In 2024, Apple Music pays artists roughly $0.01 per stream on average.

So essentially 1 stream is equal to 1 penny earned.

We should note that this figure is the average payout from Apple's individual paid plans in the US – streams from other subscription types won't be as lucrative.

The platform confirmed this in a letter they sent to labels and publishers and posted on their artist’s dashboards, in which they stated:

“As the discussion about streaming royalties continues, we believe it is important to share our values… we believe in paying every creator the same rate, that a play has a value, and that creators should never have to pay [for their music to be promoted by Apple].”  - Apple Music

Apple Music Royalty Calculator

Want to find out how much you could be earning by releasing your music and collecting music royalties on Apple Music?

Similar to the Spotify pay per stream rate, the exact amount artists can make from streams on Apple Music is impossible to say…

BUT our Apple Music Royalty calculator can give you a pretty good idea!

​​NOTE: THE ROYALTIES PREDICTED BY THIS CALCULATOR WILL NOT BE 100% ACCURATE. IT IS A ESTIMATE - BASED ON FIGURES FROM THE USA. MANY FACTORS AFFECT STREAMING ROYALTIES AND THIS CALCULATOR SHOULD ONLY BE USED AS A GUIDE.

Like we said before - it's impossible to work out exactly how much you should or could be earning per stream based on Apple Music’s own confidentiality and the vast number of factors influencing your stream rate.

So don't get too caught up on the exact calculations, and instead, focus on how you can boost the amount of money you do make from online streams!

Does Apple Music pay more than Spotify?

Based on each platform’s average pay per stream rate, Apple Music pays double that of its rival Spotify. But take that with a pinch of salt. No music service actually "pays per stream" and Spotify pays out a larger total sum of money in royalties to artists and rights holders.

This is mainly because Spotify has significantly more users than Apple Music, which means the rate per stream is lower due to the higher royalty shares.

And much like Spotify, Apple Music has confirmed that this value is subject to plenty of other factors (but more on these further down!).

What affects the Apple Music royalty rate?

According to the letter issued by Apple Music, while the average artist's pay per stream rate is a penny per stream, there are 2 major factors that can fluctuate this average.

They include:

1. Your listeners’ subscription plan

Apple Music offers multiple subscription plans for users who want to stream music on the platform.

With a free trial, Apple Music lets users stream music, ad-free with no charge. With an Apple Music paid subscription plan however, listeners will need to pay $9.99 a month to continue accessing and streaming ad-free music.

Why does this matter for your royalty rate?

Essentially - the more listeners who stream your music from a paid subscription plan, the higher your average pay per stream rate will be.

2. Your listeners’ country or region

Yep - similar to Spotify, where your listeners are tuning in from matters in the context of your Apple Music pay per stream rate.

This is due to the different amounts that every country, region or territory individually pays for streaming music on Apple Music.

This means you’ll most likely have a higher royalty rate if your music’s being listened to by fans in weather countries.

Unsure if you’ve got a global listener-base?

When you release music to Apple Music through Ditto, you’ll be able to find out via your individual Ditto Dashboard, with info and stats about who’s streaming your music based on where they are in the world.

Is Apple Music better for artists than Spotify?

It’s hard to say which is better than the other - Apple Music or Spotify.

In terms of pay per stream, Apple Music on average pays more than Spotify. But it’s not all as black and white as it may seem.

Each platform has different advantages to releasing on them.

For example, Apple Music pays more per stream, which means more money for your music. Great!

However, Spotify has a lot more users as well as opportunities for getting playlisted on official playlists, which increases your discoverability as a new artist and arguably makes it an easier platform to grow an audience on.

This is why you should probably make sure you’re releasing on both platforms to increase your chances of boosting streams of your music and increasing the amount of music revenue you make off of streaming royalties.

How to make more money from streams on Apple Music

When it comes down to it, the more streams you can generate for your music on Apple Music, the more likely you are to increase your royalty income from streams on the platform and meet the average pay per stream rate.

Once you’ve made your music available on Apple Music, getting verified is the next most important step.

Having a verified Apple Music for Artists account is the only way you’ll be able to get exclusive access to features reserved for artists on the platform - such as insights into your listeners and streams.

On top of getting verified, you’ll also want to ensure you’re making the most out of all the promotional tools available to you on the platform, to push your music out to as many listeners as possible - such as designing your own icons, creating track previews and generating social links to your music.

Find out more about effectively promoting your music on Apple Music.

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