If you’re a music artist or podcast producer, you might wonder how streaming counts work on Spotify. Each platform has its own rules, and Spotify is no exception.
Interactions with your content are crucial for boosting your account on the service and determining how much you get paid as a creator. Fortunately, Spotify has made this process transparent on its official website. Here’s how streaming counts work:
- Music Listened: A stream is counted when a user listens to a track for 30 seconds or more.
- Number of Streams at Launch: All content gets counted from the moment it’s released. If a song appears on multiple releases, it will count towards each one.
- Downloaded Songs: Streams are only counted when the listener connects to the internet (which must happen at least once every 30 days).
- All-time streams: The total number of times your song or release has been streamed on Spotify. Music video streams (30 seconds or more) count towards the all-time streams for the associated song and any release the song is on. In Spotify for Artists, all-time streams is currently the only stat that counts music video streams.
It’s important to note that your total stream count on Spotify includes not only the songs where you are the main artist but also any collaborations, remixes, or tracks where your account is appropriately linked to the content.
If you’ve landed on this article, you’re probably already a Spotify creator or planning to use the platform to promote your podcast or music. In that case, you might also be interested in knowing how much Spotify pays artists.
The streaming service has a specific payout structure that determines how much you’ll earn based on the number of streams, the listener’s location, and the subscription plan they’re on. While the exact per-stream rate can vary, it’s generally a fraction of a cent per stream.
To maximize your earnings on Spotify, it’s essential to consistently release high-quality content, engage with your audience, and promote your music or podcast effectively across multiple platforms. The more streams you generate, the higher your potential earnings will be.
