CD Baby artist payments up 26% in 2020 including 111% YouTube Music growth

[UPDATED] CD Baby saw revenue from Spotify, Apple Music, and other streaming services increase 14% in 2020, bringing in over $125 million in streaming revenue for their artists last year.

Overall revenue paid to artists from all sources was up 26% over 2019.

Unsurprisingly, Spotify generated the most steaming revenue for CD Baby’s indie artists, but YouTube Music logged the biggest increase. For the last 5 years, YouTube Music revenue has doubled year-over-year for CD Baby artists, but 2020 saw 111% growth in revenue.

[More key takeaways after the infographic.]

CD Baby 2020 Streaming Revenue Report:  Key Takeaways

Key Takeaways:  2019 – 2020

• Total CD Baby streaming revenue increased by 13.87% in 2020.
• Biggest growth:  YouTube Music skyrocketed with 111% growth in streaming revenue.
• Consistent Top Earner:  In 2019 and 2020, Spotify was 40% of the total streaming revenue.
   
• Total DSP Revenue Earnings – 2020:  125,371,664.03
  • Top Revenue Earners by Platform:
  • Spotify:  $50,200,577.76 = 40% Total Revenue
  • Apple Music: $23,153,143.28 = 18% Total Revenue
  • Amazon:  $14,706,376.82 = 12% Total Revenue
  • YouTube Music: $10,508,529.71 = 8% Total Revenue
  • iTunes: $8,951,241.28 = 7% Total Revenue
  • Pandora: $8,372,263.17 = 7% Total Revenue
     
• Total DSP Revenue Earnings – 2019:  110,094,205.38
  • Top Revenue Earners by Platform:
  • Spotify:  43,863,754.82 = 40% Total Revenue
  • Apple Music:  19,441,940.65 = 18% Total Revenue
  • Amazon:  11,048,354.39 = 10% Total Revenue
  • iTunes:  10,933,219.36 = 10% Total Revenue
  • Pandora:  9,180,793.07 = 8% Total Revenue
  • YouTube Music:  4,985,331.36 = 5% Total Revenue
     
• Top Year-Over-Year Growth by Platform:
  • YouTube Music:  +110.79%
  • Amazon:  +33.11%
  • Apple Music:  +19.09%
  • Spotify:  +14.45%
  • Pandora:  -8.81%
  • iTunes:  -18.19%