UK artists earn over $1 billion on Spotify in 2024
Spotify’s latest Loud & Clear report shows UK artists earned over $1 billion in 2024, with most of that income coming from global listeners.
Spotify has released new data from its annual Loud & Clear report, which focuses on the UK music industry. The figures show a strong year for British artists on the platform in 2024, with royalty earnings surpassing £810 million (approximately $1.03 billion) an 8% increase from the previous year.
The latest report shows the growing global demand for UK music, revealing that over 75% of royalties earned by UK artists came from international listeners. With over 271 billion streams generated worldwide, UK acts continue to solidify their influence across continents.
According to Spotify, 2024 was a landmark year for British music on the platform. The over-$1 billion figure marks the highest annual streaming payout to UK artists in Spotify’s history. The growth reflects not just increased streaming volume, but also a broader range of artists reaching new commercial heights.
The platform reported that:
- The number of UK artists earning more than £10,000, £50,000, and £100,000 in annual royalties has more than doubled since 2018.
- The number of artists earning over £1 million in royalties grew by 20% year-over-year in 2024.
- Spotify’s payouts to UK artists overall have increased by over 200% since 2017.
One of the insights in the report is the dominance of international streams. Of the total £810 million paid to UK artists, more than three-quarters came from outside the UK, a clear indicator that British music continues to resonate strongly with global audiences.
The 271 billion global streams of UK artists in 2024 represent a 28% increase from the previous year. British acts are finding success far beyond their home market, with genres ranging from grime and indie rock to electronic and pop gaining international traction.
Spotify noted that the platform’s global reach is helping UK musicians of all sizes build sustainable careers through streaming, with many gaining popularity in countries they’ve never toured or received radio play in.
The Loud & Clear report also highlights the rising influence of UK women artists, who have seen rapid growth both domestically and internationally. Over the past five years, domestic streams of women artists from the UK have grown by 52%, while international streams have risen by a remarkable 82%.
Spotify launched the Loud & Clear initiative in 2021 to address widespread concerns and misconceptions about how streaming revenue is distributed. The company has continued to update the report annually, breaking down how money flows through the platform and how artists are compensated.
The latest UK-focused release builds on this mission of transparency. Spotify says its goal is to provide artists, industry stakeholders, and fans with clear and comprehensive data about the real-world economics of streaming, a topic often obscured by myths and misinformation.
“We want to give artists and the industry access to meaningful data that helps them understand how the streaming economy works — and how it’s changing,” said a Spotify spokesperson. “This report shows that the streaming model is creating more opportunities for UK artists than ever before.”