MUMBAI: Spotify has released its annual Loud and Clear report, revealing that independent artists and labels received half of the $10 billion in royalties the platform paid out in 2024. This marks a $500 million increase from the previous year, highlighting the growing influence of independent music in the streaming economy.

“It speaks to the opportunities and choices artists have today,” said Sam Duboff, Spotify’s global head of marketing and policy for the music business. “Streaming and Spotify have enabled artists to take more control over their careers—whether they choose a major label deal, work with indie labels, or go fully independent and keep 100% of their royalties.”

Despite these gains, Spotify’s payout structure continues to face criticism. A large number of songs on the platform fail to reach the streaming threshold required for monetization, leaving many artists without earnings. The company also faced backlash from the songwriter community over its bundling strategy, which led to lower royalty rates. While the Mechanical Licensing Collective sued Spotify over the issue, a judge dismissed the case in January. According to the latest report, Spotify has paid out $4.5 billion to songwriters and publishers in the past two years.

Spotify’s update comes as the independent music sector gains more traction in the wider industry. In late 2024, Universal Music Group acquired Downtown Music Holdings for $775 million, bringing distribution platforms like CD Baby and FUGA under its umbrella. Additionally, Concord is reportedly in talks to acquire a stake in music distribution platform Stem.

The report also highlights significant growth in artist earnings and global music trends. In 2024, 1,500 artists generated at least $1 million in royalties, up from 1,350 in 2023. Since 2017, the number of royalty-earning artists on Spotify has tripled.

Furthermore, Spotify reported a rise in global music consumption, with music in eight languages—English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Korean, and Italian—surpassing $100 million in revenue last year. In contrast, only English and Spanish reached that milestone in 2017. The fastest-growing languages in royalties were Greek, Telugu, Turkish, Polish, and Arabic.

“What we’re seeing is a surge in artists from emerging music markets tapping into the global royalty pool,” Duboff said. “New types of music are succeeding, and careers that were unimaginable 20 years ago are now possible.”