A rough calculation of the amount some of the most-streamed artists have earned on the music streaming platform as of August 2025.

Most major streaming services, including Spotify, do not pay artists a flat rate per stream. Instead, they use a pro-rata payment model. This collects all advertising and subscription revenue over a month, then share 70% (with the other 30% going to Spotify) with artists based on how many streams they accrued during that month.

Not all streams are created equally. The price of a Spotify Premium subscription varies around the world, as does the amount advertisers pay out based on various factors. Streaming revenue can also vary based on the contract worked out between Spotify and labels. For these reasons, the term “pay per stream” can be misleading.

Several publications have calculated a rough estimate of how much a stream is worth on Spotify. The most up-to-date estimate on Spotify is around $0.003 and $0.005 per stream.

We use the total streams data provided by ChartMasters to find the top ten artists and their all-time Spotify streams. By multiplying the “lead streams” by an average 0.004 dollar per stream, we get the total earnings listed below. Lead streams does not include featured streams.

Please note, the amounts stated below are before labels, managers, etc. take their cut. Don’t forget, Spotify is just one source of revenue. The highest earning artists in the world have multiple sources of income from other stores, licensing deals, business ventures, live shows, merch sales, etc. These numbers are rough amounts the artists have generated on Spotify alone. To keep 100% of the revenue streaming services payout, check out RouteNote Premium!

Since last updating this list in January earlier this year, there has been some movement in the top ten. Taylor Swift is still the queen of Spotify, recently surpassing 100 billion lead streams, putting her total earnings at over $400 million.

With the of his sixth solo studio albums DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS, Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny has claimed the second-place position from Drake, with over 92 billion streams and more than $369 million in earnings making him the most-streamed male artist. Ariana Grande has recently swapped places with Ed Sheeran in fifth and sixth place respectively. Billie Eilish has edged ahead of Kanye West in ninth position, and just over $200 million generated.


The number one most-streamed artist on Spotify

1. Taylor Swift

  • Total earnings: $426,409,437
  • Lead streams: 106,602,359,350

The number three most-streamed artist on Spotify

2. Bad Bunny

  • Total earnings: $369,594,735
  • Lead streams: 92,398,683,697


The number one most-streamed artist on Spotify

3. Drake

  • Total earnings: $359,047,490
  • Lead streams: 89,761,872,596

The number four most-streamed artist on Spotify

4. The Weeknd

  • Total earnings: $285,726,041
  • Lead streams: 71,431,510,323

The number five most-streamed artist on Spotify

5. Ariana Grande

  • Total earnings: $223,644,243
  • Lead streams: 55,911,060,865

The number six most-streamed artist on Spotify

6. Ed Sheeran

  • Total earnings: $218,212,066
  • Lead streams: 54,553,016,548

The number eight most-streamed artist on Spotify

7. Eminem

  • Total earnings: $206,444,118
  • Lead streams: 51,611,029,592

The number eight most-streamed artist on Spotify

8. Justin Bieber

  • Total earnings: $202,203,231
  • Lead streams: 50,550,807,820

The number ten most-streamed artist on Spotify

9. Billie Eilish

  • Total earnings: $200,360,725
  • Lead streams: 50,090,181,340

The number ten most-streamed artist on Spotify

10. Kanye West

  • Total earnings: $192,548,988
  • Lead streams: 48,137,246,906

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