How Rapper The Weeknd Made $92 Million
It’s said that Abel Tesfaye (or The Weeknd or The Motherf**kin’ Starboy), has a net worth of $92 million as of 2020.
And his current Spotify stats are astounding as well. With over 46.5 million monthly listeners, The Weeknd is ranked #14 in the world by the music streaming app.
The Weeknd is the only son of his Ethiopian immigrant parents who fled the East African nation due to famine and found refuge in Canada.
His parents split up and the young Abel was raised by his mom and grandma. And without a strong father figure in his life, he started doing drugs — possibly all that he could get his hands on. To make things worse, he also started stealing to satisfy his drug habit.
Well, then how did he rise to the heights of fame that all musicians want?
First of all, let’s discuss the changes in the music industry in the mid-2010s before we move further with how The Weeknd made big bucks.
The Music Industry Revolution
Back in the day, artists had to rely on connections — big time. For example, Eminem, a Detroit-based youngster who lived in a trailer with his mother, received world-wide fame because Dr.Dre signed him in 1998. The same goes for Curtis Jackson, a.k.a. 50 Cent, who was also signed by Dr.Dre in 2002.
This was the trend back in the day and musicians actually got shot and killed over these things. It really wasn’t about “what” you knew, it was more about “who” you knew.
However, the advent and ubiquity of high-speed internet changed the music game forever. People weren’t buying CDs anymore. Free illegal music downloads affected the traditional music business adversely and the sales went down.
On-demand music streaming apps, such as Apple Music and Spotify, grabbed a massive share of the music database. For a very cheap subscription fee, subscribers of these services have instant access to more than 50 million songs — legal, non-pirated access!
How Artists Get Paid Now
Gone are the days when artists had to beg record labels to sign them. Musicians have way more power now. And where does the power come from? It comes from you — the fans.
In 2010, Abel, along with a producer Jeremy Rose, recorded some tracks, including “What You Need”, “Loft Music” and “The Morning” and uploaded them to YouTube.
Remember, at this time, his identity was unknown. But he didn’t care because his main purpose was to create good music and let people enjoy it. He didn’t care about going to Hollywood and walking on the red carpet.
“I didn’t want to put a face to it. I wanted to create a fan base that loved me for my art.” — Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye
Did it work? Yes! The songs got substantial attention online, even from Drake, and Abel self-released an Album the next year.
Abel had fans now. He had earned these fans by not expecting anything from them and just offering great music.
“I really wanted people who had no idea who I was to hear my project. You don’t do that by asking for money.” — Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye
Where Does the Money Come From?
When you’re famous, you can potentially create a dozen income streams easily.
The Weeknd began touring the United States in 2012 and has received some hefty paychecks to date to entertain his fans in live shows.
Another big source of revenue is online music downloads and on-demand music streaming apps. Artists can launch their music themselves on apps like Apple Music and Spotify.
The uploader gets paid around $0.006 to $0.0084 per stream. This means for every 1000 streams, an artist can earn around $6 to $8. It doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you’re a world-renowned artist like The Weeknd and have millions of streams every day, you can make some serious coin.
Apart from music, The Weeknd also reaped some profits by giving out limited-edition ONE condoms and he also collaborated with Pax Labs to promote their limited-edition electronic cigarettes.
He also entered a partnership with Puma in 2016. You’ve probably seen him promoting Puma in the “Run the Streets” campaign.
Final Words
We’re all lucky to be living in an era where creators have so much freedom. Not only the creators, but even the audience gets to choose who they really like. Unlike the olden days, when we could only listen to the music that record labels sold to us.
Even tiny monetary contributions from masses can make someone a millionaire. The idea is to provide value, in this case, entertainment, to hundreds of thousands of people.
Truly, mass reach is power.
About This Publication
How They Made Money is a publication that’s focused on analyzing how rich individuals exactly generated their income. Feel free to follow this publication if you want to use this knowledge to reach one step closer to your own financial freedom.
