Music Distribution Calculator
Estimate per-stream revenue from Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Tidal, and Amazon Music.
About this calculator
Streaming payouts vary enormously by platform because each service negotiates its own royalty pools and pricing tiers, so this calculator starts from a fixed average per-stream rate for whichever platform you select: Tidal pays the most per stream at $0.012, Apple Music next at $0.008, Spotify and Amazon Music both around $0.004, and YouTube Music the least at $0.002 — reflecting YouTube's heavier reliance on ad-supported, lower-value listening. If you mark yourself as an independent artist, the calculator applies a 10% bonus to that rate, modeling the real-world pattern that going through a distributor like DistroKid or TuneCore instead of a label typically nets a better per-stream deal even before any label split is considered. Monthly streams times that effective rate gives gross revenue, from which the calculator subtracts your distributor's cut (a percentage you set, commonly 0-15% depending on the service and plan) to get revenue after distribution, then applies your personal revenue split percentage — 100% if you're fully independent and keeping everything, lower if you're signed and splitting with a label or collaborators — to arrive at net monthly revenue.
Net revenue divided by total streams gives a real per-stream take-home figure, usually a small fraction of a cent, and multiplying net revenue by twelve gives a rough annual projection assuming steady streaming volume. These per-stream rates are fixed averages baked into the calculator rather than live figures, so an individual stream's actual payout — which depends on the listener's country, subscription tier, and that month's pro-rata pool — will vary from what your real statement shows.
Inputs
Results
Gross Monthly Revenue
$44.00
Net Monthly Revenue
$37.40
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Monthly Streams and select your Primary Platform (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, or Amazon Music).
- Set Your Revenue Split and Distributor Fee percentages.
- Choose whether you are an Independent Artist.
- Review Gross Monthly Revenue ($) and Net Monthly Revenue ($).
- Use Distributor Fee ($), Net Revenue per Stream, and Annual Projection to inform your decision.
How the result changes with Monthly Streams
| Monthly Streams | Gross Monthly Revenue | Net Monthly Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| 5,000 | $22.00 | $18.70 |
| 7,500 | $33.00 | $28.05 |
| 15,000 | $66.00 | $56.10 |
| 25,000 | $110.00 | $93.50 |
What each input means
- Monthly Streams
- Total number of streams per month across your catalog.
- Primary Platform
- Select the primary platform
- Your Revenue Split
- Your percentage of revenue after distributor fee (100% if independent, less if signed to a label).
- Distributor Fee
- Percentage taken by your digital distributor (DistroKid, TuneCore, etc.).
- Independent Artist
- Independent artists may receive slightly higher per-stream rates.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersMonthly Streams = 10000, Primary Platform = 1, Your Revenue Split = 100, Distributor Fee = 15 = 5 input(s) provided
- Calculate Gross Monthly RevenueGross Monthly Revenue44 = $44
- Calculate Net Monthly RevenueNet Monthly Revenue37.4 = $37.4
- Calculate Distributor FeeDistributor Fee6.6 = $6.6
- Calculate Net Revenue per StreamNet Revenue per Stream0.00374 = 0.00374
Engine last updated . Checked against 3 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Tidal show a much higher per-stream rate than Spotify or YouTube Music in this calculator?
The calculator uses a fixed average payout per platform: $0.012 for Tidal versus $0.004 for Spotify and Amazon Music and just $0.002 for YouTube Music. This reflects real structural differences — Tidal's subscriber base skews toward paid, higher-tier plans with less ad-supported listening diluting the royalty pool, while YouTube Music's payouts are pulled down by a large share of free, ad-supported streams.
How exactly does marking myself as an Independent Artist change the result?
Selecting Yes for Independent Artist multiplies the platform's base per-stream rate by 1.1, a flat 10% bonus, before gross revenue is calculated. This models the common industry pattern that going direct through a distributor like DistroKid or TuneCore, rather than through a traditional label deal, tends to net artists a somewhat better effective per-stream rate — it's applied independently of and before the separate Revenue Split and Distributor Fee percentages.
What's the difference between the Distributor Fee and my Revenue Split percentage?
Distributor Fee is subtracted first — it's the cut your distribution service takes off gross revenue before anything else. Your Revenue Split is then applied to what's left after that fee, representing your personal percentage of the remainder; set it to 100% if you keep everything after the distributor, or lower if you're splitting the net with a label, co-writers, or bandmates.
Why might my actual streaming statement not match this calculator's numbers even with the exact same stream count?
This tool uses one fixed average rate per platform, but real per-stream payouts fluctuate month to month based on the platform's total pro-rata royalty pool, the listener's country (rates differ sharply between markets), and whether the stream came from a free or paid subscription tier. Treat the output as a directional estimate for budgeting and platform comparison, not a substitute for your actual royalty statement.
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