Royalties Simulator
This calculator provides an estimate of the earnings you can generate from your music streams on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
Estimate your streaming royalties in seconds.
Built free by Prisma Pro — the Catalogue OS for record labels.
Your earnings: €0.00
How to Understand Your Spotify Royalties
A Free Guide from Prisma Music
Knowing what you earn from streams is step one. Knowing what you're owed — and actually collecting it — is where most independent labels fall short. This guide breaks down how streaming royalties work, where money gets lost, and how to build a catalogue operation that leaves nothing on the table.
One tool worth starting with is this Royalties Simulator — a quick way to estimate your master earnings per platform. But your full royalty picture goes well beyond stream counts. Let's break it down.
What Is a Royalty Calculator?
A royalty calculator estimates how much you’ll earn from your streams on platforms like Spotify. It gives you a ballpark figure based on average per-stream rates. These tools are useful for forecasting income, but they don’t tell the full story.
What Does Spotify Pay Per Stream?
Spotify pays between $0.0025–$0.005 per stream, depending on factors like:
- Listener location
- Free vs. Premium account
- Your distributor's or label’s terms
But here's where most artists lose money: this figure refers only to the master side. Your publishing rights (performance + mechanical royalties) are often uncollected or mismanaged.
How Are Spotify Royalties Calculated?
Spotify uses a pro-rata model:
(Your streams ÷ Total Spotify streams) × Revenue pool = Your royalty share
From there:
From there:
- Spotify pays your distributor for master royalties
- Performance and mechanical royalties are sent to collection societies (like Unison, GEMA, or BMI)
- You might only receive your publishing share if you’re registered with a publisher or rights admin
This complexity is why many artists don’t receive their full earnings.
How Long Does It Take to Get Paid?
From Spotify stream to your bank account takes roughly 2–3 months:
Month 0 – Your song is streamed
Month 1 – Spotify reports to distributors and societies
Month 2 – Payouts are processed and sent to rights holders
Depending on your distributor or publishing admin, delays or lost revenue can occur.
Who Actually Receives Spotify Royalties?
Royalties are divided into:
- Master royalties (for the performer/label/distributor)
- Publishing royalties (for the songwriter and publisher)
If you're not properly registered or administered, you’re likely missing out on 20–50% of your potential income.
How Can I Maximize My Spotify Royalties?
Here are proven strategies:
- Release consistently to stay in the algorithm
- Claim both master and publishing rights
- Pitch to playlists and editorial curators
- Encourage fans to follow you for repeat streams
- Collaborate with artists and producers to tap into new audiences
And most importantly: centralize your royalty management so you don’t leave money on the table.