{"id":90442,"date":"2026-01-21T18:29:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:29:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=90442"},"modified":"2026-01-21T18:29:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T18:29:07","slug":"highest-earning-spotify-artists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/highest-earning-spotify-artists\/","title":{"rendered":"How much money have the top 10 artists earned on Spotify in 2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A rough calculation of the amount some of the most-streamed artists have earned on the music streaming platform as of January 2026.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

We use the total streams data provided by ChartMasters<\/a> to find the top ten artists and their all-time Spotify streams<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since last updating this list in August last year, there has been some movement in the top ten. Taylor Swift<\/strong> is still the queen of Spotify, recently surpassing 100 billion lead streams, putting her total earnings close to $500 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny<\/strong> claims the second-place position, also with over 100 billion streams and more than $400 million in earnings making him the most-streamed male artist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the release of his seventh and eighth studio albums last year, SWAG<\/em> and SWAG II<\/em>, Justin Bieber<\/strong> has edged ahead of Eminem<\/strong> in seventh position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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1. Taylor Swift<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n