Spotify paid out $11 billion to the music industry in 2025: Here’s what it’s doing for artists in 2026
As Spotify reveals it paid out a record-breaking amount to the music industry for the second consecutive year, the platform is outlining how it plans to support artists even further in 2026.
Another record-breaking payout
Spotify has just raised the bar again. The streaming platform has confirmed it paid out over $11 billion to the music industry in 2025, up from the $10 billion it paid out the year before. It marks the second consecutive year of record-breaking payouts, and the largest annual payment to music from any retailer in history.
Once again, independent artists and labels accounted for around half of all royalties on the platform, underlining how streaming and independent distributors like RouteNote continue to open the door for more artists. In fact, Spotify revealed more artists are now generating more than $100,000 per year from Spotify alone than the number of artists that had their records in stores at the peak of the CD era.
Spotify’s payouts grew by more than 10% last year and now represents 30% of total recorded music revenue. That level of growth is outpacing other music revenue streams which are closer to 4%. In other words, Spotify was a key driver of industry revenue growth overall in 2025.
Fans at the heart of it
A whopping 750 million people now subscribe to Spotify worldwide, helping to contribute to Spotify’s growing royalty pool. Spotify is on the verge of increasing its subscription price in the US, and since the platform pays out nearly two-thirds of its revenue back to the music industry, that growth should directly flow into artist and rightsholder earnings.
The other third of revenue? That’s what Spotify keeps to reinvest and level up its streaming experience, and help artists to connect with more listeners. As more than 100,000 new songs are released daily, Spotify is helping emerging artists cut through the noise in 2026. Here’s how:
How Spotify is helping artists in 2026
Artist storytelling for an authentic artist-fan connection
In a world flooded with AI-generated content, Spotify is leaning into real human stories. The platform is expanding ways for artists to share who they are, the inspiration behind their songs, and the moments that shape their music. That way, casual listeners can connect with artists and become long-term fans.
Spotify’s upcoming SongDNA feature is one of the ways it sets out to achieve that. By letting fans explore the collaborators behind a track, they can connect with the faces behind what they’re listening to. Plus, Spotify’s video push should spark up more authentic moments for artists to connect with their fans.
Artist identity, verification, and trust
In a similar vein, Spotify is also prioritizing artist protection in today’s AI world. The platform intends to develop stronger systems around artist verification, song credits, and identity protection to prevent impersonation, mismatched content, and scams that often draw royalties away from authentic artists.
The goal is simple: make sure listeners and rightsholders can trust who actually made the music they’re listening to.
Human editorial to support artists
While algorithms help discovery, human curation still carries weight. Spotify says it’s sharpening Spotify for Artists tools in 2026 to help new releases and expanding editorial programs to better support emerging artists.
Editorial playlists like RADAR have already helped developing artists to breakthrough, and Spotify plans to build on any early recognition artists may gain and turn it into sustained momentum. Expect to see more of the human voices behind Spotify’s playlists, giving artists more chances for their music and story to come to life.
Turning streams into live stream revenue
Spotify has already helped artists generate over $1 billion in ticket sales through its in-app ticketing integrations. Now, Spotify wants to double down on this connection.
In 2026, Spotify plans to roll out additional features designed to help artists fill shows with genuine fans, not just casual listeners. As touring remains a key source of income for artists, Spotify wants to focus on helping more fans to show up physically after that initial discovery.
Wrapping up
Spotify’s message for 2026 is clear. In an era defined by unprecedented competition and unprecedented opportunity, growth must translate into reliable career paths for artists. The $11 billion payout is impressive, but Spotify is eager to keep pushing. The platform’s roadmap for the year ahead indicates how it will keep showing up to help artists.
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