Beyond the loyal fanbase and high streaming numbers, making money is a necessary aspect in every artist’s career. And while this luxury may come easy to those signed to record labels or have high paying brand deals, independent artists tend to struggle within these systems, since most are capitalist corporations looking to make profit in music – and that creates a flaw in the market as artists earnings get to be controlled, especially for those without management. 

But before we get into some of the highest paying music platforms out there – These are some basic tips, New and Independent artists’ need to know, to maximise earnings in the music industry;

  • Sign Up to a Digital Distribution Platform 

The next important step for you as an artist – after the release of your music – is to sign up to a digital distribution platform. These platforms are essential because, most of the popular streaming platforms you may know of require that and they’re also great ways independent artists can reach global markets and enjoy streamlined processes that are absent, if without record labels. Some of the most used platforms are;

Distrokid:  Use this platform for fast uploads and keep 100% royalties at a yearly fee of $20

Tune Core: Has unlimited and per release pricing, but you keep 100% earnings 

CD Baby: One-time fee per release, they take a small cut of royalties.

United Masters: Unlimited releases, 100% royalties and live tracking streaming revenue. 

Signing up on digital distribution platforms may or may not need payments for yearly subscription plans. See more here and here

  • Have a clear objective – More money or More Listeners 

Streaming platforms and digital distribution platforms, each follow various models on how to share royalties with artists on the platform. While Spotify  (a music streaming service with high listeners) uses a streamshare model – i.e. royalties based on the number of streams and priced at $0.00437/per stream, others like Bandcamp and Soundcloud are utilizing the “Artist First Revenue” and “Fan-Powered Royalties” which lets fans pay artists directly. So it’s important to choose what matters more to you at the moment – more money or more listeners. 

  • Own your music or Have Permission to Use

You can only maximise your music if you have full rights to the songs or have it cleared from production to use. Cases like sampling songs can eat into your money if you do not get permission from the artists. Streaming platforms and digital distribution require that artists have all the rights to the songs to enjoy what they earn. 

  • Create an Artist Profile

To ensure that you come across as professional to fans and well brands or labels, it is quite important to craft a good artist bio for what you do as a musician. This is also necessary for when you need to have promos or write press releases. Not having a label means going the extra mile to have a solid personal brand.

Image courtsey – Venice Music
Here are 5 High Paying Music Streaming Platforms for Independent Artists 

1. Bandcamp – Has the best offer which allows fans to receive payments directly from fans. Which is about 85% sales since Bandcamp takes 10%-15% of total revenue sales.

2. Qobuz – $0.022 per stream

3. Napster – $0.019 – $0.021 per stream

4. Tidal – $0.013 per stream

5. Deezer – $0.0064 per stream

These are the 5 high paying music streaming platforms out there – compared to the least paying streaming platforms like Spotify ($0.00437), Apple Music($0.0056 – $0.0078), Amazon Music ($0.00402), Youtube Music ($0.0007 – $0.0012) which can offer better reach and market share for artists, since they hold most of the active listeners on the market.