“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks Silver lining – the cheap bastards will probably start algorithmically prioritising unknown artists they don’t have to pay…
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks thanks for calling that out. They're adopting a business model similar to the one of YouTube, where one needs 1000 subscribers and >4000 watched hours per year in order to be monetized. And the majority of YouTubers are not able to reach it. Indeed theft, as some people pointed out. Or exploitation. In any case, such business practices should have no place in our society.
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks anyone using Spotify is a cunt.
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks@mastodon.social
A friend of mine had their music on spotify for a while, quite the popular band. Tens of thousands of plays.
His royalty was so meager the transfer fees in banks would eat the profits.
I'd rather give my music away for free. -
“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@andrewleland @jonhicks Terrifying. Those big services are more inhumane than ever.
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
So Spotify is a platform for mainstream-music? I’m not surprised.
In Germany we say: The devil shits on the highest heap.
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks fewer
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks Could you share your source please? The article linked doesn't seem to even mention Spotify (unless it was edited?)
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So Spotify is a platform for mainstream-music? I’m not surprised.
In Germany we say: The devil shits on the highest heap.
@_RyekDarkener_ @jonhicks that's why the white house is expanding
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks "But we have to have copyright for the sake of the creators!"
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks Steal everything. Go to gigs.
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks BandCamp
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks Not going to be a popular comment here because it’s so cool to hate on Apple, but Apple Music pays about double to artists compared with Spotify and doesn’t have a free tier (so *all* listens are paid). Still better to support your favourite artists directly but Apple Music is clearly better than Spotify in this regard. Always has been.
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@jonhicks Steal everything. Go to gigs.
@devolute or… buy physical media AND go to gigs AND stream as well?
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@devolute or… buy physical media AND go to gigs AND stream as well?
@jonhicks Music is too important to rely on someone else's trickles down from a cloud.
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@obrhoff @nevyn the core problem of Spotify has always been there - that they took advantage of an industry worried about Napster. I’ve always justified using it because I buy music as well, but not with decisions like adverts for ICE and investing in Helsing AI .
My work with them was quite brief in the end - I think my icons only lasted a year before they replaced them with thin iOS 7 style ones!
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks I am a musician but I never make any money. I quit being a Spotify customer when I discovered their CEO was financially supporting military AI from Germany or something evil like that. That money should have gone to the musicians. Now my music is on Bandcamp.
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks @myrobotfriend Ugh. I thought independence would screw the music industry but then the tech bros took over the music industry and showed them how to *really* screw, nickel and dime artists and the audience.
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks this is unbelievable. Spotify had/has the best recommendation “algorithm” I’ve ever experienced. But they seem to be artist hostile.
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“In April 2024, Spotify implemented a new scheme: songs with less than 1k streams per year would no longer receive royalties.
The data for 2025 was just released via Luminate, and 88% of songs have been demonetized.
Read it again: 88% of songs on Spotify have been demonetized.”
https://musically.com/2026/01/15/5-1tn-annual-music-streams-but-120-5m-tracks-had-10-or-fewer/
@jonhicks This is not unexpected, I guess there are plenty of scammers around that just spam Spotify with keyword stuffing or whatever.
What's a lot more interesting to me is how many *listens* have been demonetized. That's not such a "tech is evil" statistic though, so the media better not report it I guess.
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