What Each Country Pays For Spotify Premium and How It Affects What Artists Get Paid
Spotify is available in 92 countries. But what users pay for a Spotify Premium subscription varies widely, according to a new study.
The difference in price is designed to make the service affordable in each country and reflect local per capita income.
But some countries get a much better deal than others and the result of all of this variable pricing effects what Spotify pays out in royalties.
How Payments Are Affected
Spotify payments to artists, labels and music publishers are based entirely on a percentage of how much Spotify collects divided by the number of streams.
89% LESS
So when a subscriber streams a track using his $1.58 USD per month subscription in India, Spotify pays out 89% less than they would for the same stream in Denmark where a subscription costs $14,39 USD
Key Findings
- Spotify Premium is cheapest in India (the equivalent of $1.58) and most expensive in Denmark ($14.39).
- The best value compared to a national average salary is in Qatar (0.1% of monthly income), and the worst value is in Nicaragua (3.9%).
- The countries that get the best value can thank higher wages rather than low subscription fees.
- The ten worst deals all balance a mid-range subscription fee against an average monthly wage of under $400.
