A new study has revealed that only approximately 720 of musicians in the U.K. earn enough money from music streaming to sustain a living.
Analyzing data from 2014-2020—along with focus groups and interviews with musicians—the Intellectual Property Office released the “Music Creators’ Earnings In The Digital Era” study, which revealed that only the top 0.4% of UK artists make a livable wage from streaming on platforms like Spotify or Apple Music.
1,723 artists in total fell into the top 0.4% bracket, but the majority of those artists were not native to the U.K. U.S.-based artists accounted for 43.2% of the top streams in the U.K.
Recommended Articles
“We estimate that this 1,723 UK figure may translate into around 720 UK artists achieving this level of success in 2020, but the number of variables makes this only a very rough guide,’ the report reads. “Applying this figure to the 1723 artists achieving more than 1 million streams in the UK, this would mean that 720 British artists gain a million or more UK streams a month (because 41.8% of 1723 is 720) and therefore exceed what we are suggesting might be some sort of minimum basis for sustaining a career.”
43% of the artists whose income is entirely based on music streams reported earnings of £20,000 or less and 64% reported £30,000 or less.
The report follows an initiative by the UK government to help consider reforms in regards to streaming and profits.
Check out the full “Music Creators’ Earnings In The Digital Era” report here.
