How Much Can You Actually Make from Streaming?

Exactly how many streams do you need to cover your daily life?

On a recent episode of Everyday Struggle, Joe Budden asked hip-hop producer and It’s a Wonderful World Music Group executive, 9th Wonder, “How do you get to the money in the streaming era?”

“You can’t depend on streaming. You have to depend on other ways — or avenues — or other revenue streams to do other things,” he replied.

“That can’t be true,” many up-and-coming artists will moan.

A recent Digital Music News headline read: I’ve Got 1.2 Million Plays on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon, and TIDAL. Want to See My Royalties?

DMN describes the anonymous subject of the article as a “successful indie artist” and owns 100% of publishing and masters. The artist reportedly made “€3,765.01, or $4,432.58” on the million streams (keep in mind an artist based in the United States would receive different returns).

DMN ran another royalties article for a songwriter who had worked with Justin Bieber on “As Long As You Love Me”. In three years, the songwriter made $149,000 (with 20% publishing rights on a top ten hit).

Seeing all of these numbers can feel a little hypothetical to artists trying to make a career with their…