How does Spotify count streams or a 'listen' on a song?

How does Spotify count streams or a ‘listen’ on a song?

By Jacca-RouteNoteNovember 12, 20193 mins read

What counts as a stream on Spotify? Do offline streams count? Does Spotify count streams on repeat? These Q’s and more answered below.

What does Spotify count as a play or one stream of a song? This is important to know for artists, as it is what will count towards your total plays and the revenue you earn.

Spotify classifies a single stream of a song when it has been listened to for 30 seconds or more.

If you restart the song, whether by having it on repeat or clicking it again, it will count as another play after 30 seconds have been listened to again.

If you listen to a song offline that you have saved in your library then each play will still count after 30 seconds the same. Spotify will track your offline plays and add them to their servers when you next connect to the internet.

So if you end up skipping the end of a song, as long as you’ve listened for over 30 seconds it will still count.

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30 replies

Anj says:

August 28, 2020 at 12:50 am

Does streaming at minimum volume (less than 50%) count as a stream?

Reply
1. Jacca-RouteNote says:
  
  September 2, 2020 at 11:05 am
  
  Hi Anj, yes it does! I believe it’s only if you are streaming on mute that Spotify doesn’t count a stream.
  
  Reply
2. Kim Hana says:
  
  June 17, 2021 at 9:35 pm
  
  Anj, if you stream or play a song in less than 50% volume it doesn’t count as a stream!!!
  
  Reply
Liah says:

September 2, 2020 at 11:15 am

Hi, what is the difference between filtered and unfiltered streams?? If i were to have a playlist, 1 track repeatedly without any other songs in between, does if count as spam?

Reply
1. Nixon Irom says:
  
  May 21, 2021 at 2:48 pm
  
  Filtered stream would be a stream that has been verified (that it is not played via a bot, but by a human), and unfiltered would be the ones that has yet to be verified.
  If you were to play that one song from a playlist without any songs in between, then, no it won’t count as a stream.
  
  Reply
Susan says:

September 2, 2020 at 3:48 pm

What will happen if you have a song on your likes and you keep repeating the whole song but you watch the full song.

Reply
1. Chandan says:
  
  April 7, 2023 at 9:04 pm
  
  If you have a song on your likes and you keep repeating the whole song but you watch the full song, it will count as a play for that song on your account. However, if you continuously repeat the same song, it may be seen as spam by the streaming platform and may affect the algorithm’s recommendation of that song to other users. Additionally, repeatedly listening to the same song may also affect your personal music taste algorithm, and may lead to less diverse music recommendations in the future.
  
  Reply
Susan says:

September 2, 2020 at 3:50 pm

What will happen if you have the song on your likes but you put it on repeat and listen to the full song?

Reply
Melissa says:

September 16, 2020 at 2:52 pm

Hello can someone explain what they mean by this? Thanks

Who are my listeners?
Listeners are unique listeners who stream your songs during the time period specified. If someone plays your music multiple times in the displayed time period, they only get counted once

Reply
1. Pyronite says:
  
  October 31, 2020 at 2:18 pm
  
  That’s separate, which you’ve taken from the Spotify for Artists page. Unless you make and release music on spotify, you don’t need to worry about that.
  
  Reply
  1. Neha kumari says:
    
    December 14, 2023 at 1:31 pm
    
    Does stream count if I play the song in the background while playing other apps ?
    
    Reply
    1. LucyLH says:
      
      December 15, 2023 at 10:36 am
      
      Yes, that would still count as a stream!
      
      Reply
2. Chandan says:
  
  April 7, 2023 at 9:07 pm
  
  “Listeners” refer to the number of unique individuals who have streamed your music within a specified time period. This means that even if the same person listens to your music multiple times within that time period, they will only be counted once as a unique listener. Essentially, it gives you an idea of how many different people are listening to your music.
  
  Reply
  1. Chikhaoui says:
    
    April 11, 2024 at 6:54 am
    
    How long does this period last?
    
    Reply
Melissa says:

September 16, 2020 at 3:19 pm

If I have a family account of 6 people, and all 6 listen to the same artist, same song, do they count as 1 stream or 6 stream ???

Reply
1. Chandan says:
  
  April 7, 2023 at 9:08 pm
  
  If all 6 people listen to the same artist and the same song, it will count as 6 streams. Each stream is counted per account, regardless of whether multiple people in the same account stream the same song.
  
  Reply
Spotify Skipping says:

March 11, 2021 at 10:40 am

Spotify is a web music streaming company that launched on 7th October 2008 and was founded on 23rd April 2006. Well, let’s not enter history and do mention this situation. Well talking about the most straightforward music streaming company, Spotify does get counted into that.

Reply
Electronates says:

January 30, 2022 at 9:08 am

Spotify classifies a single stream of a song when it has been listened to for 30 seconds or more.

Reply
Electronates says:

January 30, 2022 at 9:26 am

Spotify counts 1 stream when the song has been listened to for 30 seconds or more, regardless of what song was played before. For example, if you listen to a song for 30 seconds and then listen to it again for 30 seconds, that will be counted as 2 streams.

Reply
Gerald Eseru says:

May 15, 2023 at 9:23 am

perfect blog post thanks

Reply
Aldo says:

May 15, 2023 at 9:25 am

very help full information thanks sharing with us

Reply
1. Okezie Prosper Uchemadu says:
  
  December 6, 2023 at 4:44 am
  
  What if i repeat one playlists with so many different artist songs day and night, Will it also count as streams?
  
  Reply
Amy McKee says:

June 10, 2023 at 1:33 pm

What if a song is less than 30 seconds long? Would it not be counted at all?

Reply
1. LucyLH says:
  
  June 13, 2023 at 8:56 am
  
  Hey,
  
  It depends on each store’s policies on pay-outs per stream! Some stores would pay out royalties for a ‘partial stream’, but it changes per store and revenue share per stream is not static, it depends greatly on numerous factors within their models.
  
  Reply
Anu says:

November 15, 2023 at 10:59 am

What is filtered streams? Does a song will have filtered stream if it doesn’t charted in global Spotify 200

Reply
Hu says:

December 23, 2023 at 4:08 pm

Do unsubscribed / non paid accounts contribute to A) play counts B) Artist royalties.
Thank you

Reply
1. Jacca-RouteNote says:
  
  December 28, 2023 at 1:32 pm
  
  Hey Hu, all plays count towards stream count and generate streaming royalties on Spotify. Free users generate royalties from advertising revenue, though it can generate less per stream than from Premium listeners.
  
  Reply
Hu says:

December 30, 2023 at 10:48 pm

Thank you for your answer Jacca

Reply
Pete says:

January 27, 2024 at 9:11 pm

There are some CDs I listen to on spotify in their entirety, and some of the tracks are listed with Nil plays, even now after a couple of years when I have played them 20+ times. What’s that about then?

Reply
1. Jacca-RouteNote says:
  
  January 31, 2024 at 4:28 pm
  
  Hey Pete, Spotify might not be showing a stream count if the song hasn’t reached enough streams. It’s worth noting that streams will only count if the song has been played for 30 seconds or longer.
  
  Reply

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