Zoë Keating Shares Update Of Her Streaming Music Revenue
Zoë Keating returns with another episode of "show me the money" as she endeavors to lift the curtains on what one artist makes in order to advance the discussion about what all artists make. In this episode Keating shares her streaming revenue for two older recordings distributed by CDBaby for the first six months of 2013.
The Q1 & Q2 2013 Streaming Revenue spreadsheet shared by Zoë Keating is noted to be for two albums, a 4-song EP "One Cello x 16" (2005) and an 8-song album "One Cello x 16: Natoma" (2006). Subtotals are after CDBaby's 9%.
Two different sections feature revenue sources. The initial chart that can be displayed in a variety of ways features revenue from 24-7, Amazon Cloud Drive, iTunes Match, MediaNet, Rhapsody, Spotify and Xbox Music. The other chart features SoundExchange (including Pandora) and YouTube.
The per stream data shows the wide range one can expect from 0.4 cents per stream on Spotify to 3.5 cents per stream on Xbox Music. But Keating collected only $13.38 from Xbox for far fewer streams than Spotify served at a grand total of $807.98.
The data for SoundExchange and YouTube doesn't include per-stream figures but does show that SoundExchange brought in $1617.71 while YouTube paid $930.26.
This data is a bit of a hodgepodge but also makes it clear why per-stream figures ultimately can't be the deciding factor for musicians in evaluating revenue sources. Ability to aggregate an audience for significant numbers of streams becomes increasingly important as one's audience grows.
But one might also consider the value of a platform in terms of how it helps build one's relationship with one's audience. YouTube stands out for direct contact and the ability to encourage additional sales or video viewing.
In fact, this partial documentation is a reminder that one usually should look at the value of a resource beyond immediate revenue to overall impact on revenue and awareness.
Keating's previous earnings report looked at both sales and streaming which puts things in a different light. Looking at a more total picture of all revenue sources would give yet another look.
Hopefully Zoë Keating's willingness to share info usually kept private will encourage more such openness while also encouraging musicians to focus on the services that give them the most overall support.
[Disclosure: Zoe Keating is an agency client of Hypebot's parent company Skyline Music.]
More:
- Streaming music payments: how much do artists really receive?
- A Look Inside Zoe Keating's Earnings As An Indie Musician
- Why Telling Artists To Stop Selling Music & Just Make Money Through Live Shows Is Ridiculous
Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (@fluxresearch/@crowdfundingm) also blogs at Flux Research and Crowdfunding For Musicians. To suggest topics for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.
