With a changing industry and a few new revenue streams rolling out, we've compiled all the info you need!
Spotify and SoundCloud have both found multiple ways for Australian music, audio and video creators to make more money, and deepen the relationship with their followers. Spotify’s squilla-making ideas includes more music video features, and a revenue share from its growing move into video podcasts.
“Best Upload Experience”
SoundCloud has updated its monetisation system whereby eligible Next Pro artists make revenue quicker as they upload their content, and also sell their merchandise to superfans.
It claims to have “the best damn upload experience on the internet. Period.”
Spotify Expands
Spotify has just expanded music video beta to 85 new markets, including Australia, where it is the leading streaming service, followed by YouTube Music, Apple Music and SoundCloud.
Artists can test various options to communicate with fans, tease album releases and share behind-the-scenes footage.
Premium subscribers get the opportunity to experience the visual worlds of artists like Charli XCX, LISA, Fontaines D.C., Nick Ward, Anirudh Ravichander, and Fireboy DML.
Build Connections
Spotify said: “Music videos are a powerful way to build connections between artists and fans.
“In fact, users who discover a song and then watch the music video on Spotify are 34% more likely on average to stream the song again the following week.
Read all our latest features and gear columns here.
Saved
“And on average, songs discovered with music videos are 24% more likely to be saved or shared in the following week by those who watched.
There are 100 million music tracks on 4 billion playlists on Spotify.
New features introduced to increase the music video experience include video indicators on tracks, easier searches via track or artist, and the option to switch between music tracks and videos with a single tap of a button.
5 Most Listened
The 5 most listened to songs on Spotify so far in 2024 are:
- “Espresso” by Sabrina Carpenter (1.57 billion)
- “Beautiful Things” by Benson Boone (1.54 billion)
- “Birds Of A Feather” by Billie Eilish (1.45 billion)
- “Gata Only” by Cris MJ (1.2 billion)
- “Too Sweet” by Hozier (over 1 billion)
Biggest Figures
Spotify’s moves come as it released this month (November) some of its biggest figures to date, and heading for the first year it goes into profit.
In its third quarter (Q3) 2024 financials, the amount of its global users was up to 640 million.
The number of paying Premium subscribers rose to 252 million, up 12% from last year, and up by 6 million from the previous quarter.
With Q3 operating income at €454 million (AUD$739.7 million), Spotify is on track to post its first ever profit in 2024, of €1.37 billion ($2.23 billion).
Video Podcast
Another new Spotify service (due in January) is aimed at video podcast makers, but it argues that music creators will also benefit.
At its Now Playing event in Los Angeles last week (November 13) it unveiled its new Spotify Partner Program.
It is available to eligible visual and audio creators in Australia, the US, UK and Canada.
Earn Every Time
They earn every time an ad monetised by Spotify plays in a podcast episode, on and off the platform.
“All a creator has to do is tell us where they want the ads to play, and we’ll take care of the rest,” the company explained in a blog post.
Premium Subs
Also as part of the Partner Program, creators can make money out of from Premium subscribers.
Premium subbers who stream video don’t get interrupted by ad breaks, but creators get paid “based on how much their fans stream their content.”
Spotify founder and CEO Daniel Ek told launch guests, “By giving you, the creators, another path to monetization beyond ads, we’re freeing you up to spend more time doing what you love: creating.”
Up 50%
The number of creators actively publishing videos monthly on Spotify has grown by more than 50% year over year.
There are now more than 300,000 video podcast shows on Spotify.
Australian creators’ video podcast output grew by over 60% year on year, with consumption hours up 11 per cent (making Australia the biggest Spotify market in the Asia Pacific) and monthly video podcast listeners up over 40%.
Global Consumption
Global consumption has grown quickly. More than 170 million Spotify users have streamed a video on the platform, from 10 million in 2019.
More than 250 million users have watched a video podcast on Spotify, and nearly two-thirds of podcast listeners say they prefer podcasts with video.
The number of monthly active users who engage with video podcasts jumped 60% year on year.
Blurring
Spotify is increasingly responding to the changes in multi-media landscape by blurring the lines between video and music.
Pop star Meghan Trainor commented on a positive of the intersecting worlds of music, podcasts and audiobooks.
“On Spotify, my podcasts, my audiobook, and my music are all in one place,” Trainor pointed out.
“It’s one place, one app where fans can find everything and learn more if they didn’t know I did all that. It’s the best.
Benefit
But alas, music artists won’t get more royalties from this expansion in video. The two divisions have their own set-ups and revenue streams.
Spotify argues bringing in new video subscribers will benefit music creators as the new people also will most likely listen to music too, and spend more time on the platform.
The average time on Spotify is up to almost 40 hours, from 30 hours per month in 2020.
The company reported, “We’ve also recently activated music videos in 85 additional markets, and the engagement has continued to soar.”
Short Length Videos
Australian creators will also benefit from another Spotify feature, to do with short length videos.
It’s allowing video creators to upload the short videos they created for TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and other short video platforms.
Aside from Australia, this feature also launched in the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand and Singapore.
Adding Videos
Podcasts already make money for their creators, but Spotify is encouraging them to add video to these.
By paying podcasts hosts on how much audiences engage with them, Spotify is taking the lead from YouTube in sharing ad revenue.
YouTube Revenue
Just how much YouTubers make from their ads is not known but there are over 3 million creators in its ad-share program.
A quarter of YouTube’s paid creators are earning money with Shorts.
YouTube has paid $70 billion to creators in total over the last three years, with the bulk of that going to longform content.
The number of Shorts uploaded on YouTube has grown by 50% year over year, now averaging over 70 billion daily views from over 2 billion users per month.
SoundCloud Upgrade
Over 40 million music creators around the world have a SoundCloud account, adding to its catalogue of 375 million tracks which 140 million registered users listen to.
As part of an upgrade this month, Next Pro users who have monetised at least one track can start generating revenue even as they start the upload process by pressing Monetization. Note, this is not available for basic user and first time monetisers, or for multi-track uploads.
Seamlessly
“Next Pro artists can now seamlessly opt into ‘Monetization’ during the upload process to earn money from their tracks,” the company explained.
“There’s no need to navigate complex settings—SoundCloud makes it simple so your creativity starts working for you right away.
Additionally, “The moment you upload a new track, your followers will be notified, ensuring your fans stay up-to-date with your latest releases without any additional effort.”
Recommendation
As a track is being uploaded, the creator can tap into SoundCloud’s recommendation algorithm with one click, to reach fan-driven playlists.
After being in open beta for almost six years, a new feature lets Pro users distribute their tracks to over 60 music platforms including Spotify and Apple Music, directly from SoundCloud’s upload interface.
Also just arrived is a beta merchandise program whereby select Next Pro artists can tap on their superfans’ appeal by offering their items as T-shirts, hoodies and limited-edition accessories through its three month old SoundCloud Store without covering upfront production costs.
Ascending
In September SoundCloud officially launched its artist development program, ‘Ascending,’ that identifies and promotes breakthrough artists globally by giving them maximum exposure at the right time.
Among those who’ve used the feature include Shaboozey, Laila!, Barry Can’t Swim, TiaCorine, Teezo Touchdown, Kenya Grace and Odetari.
SoundCloud claims that artists who’ve used the program (they have to be Next Pro subscribers and have a new record out during the month-long campaign) generally found their followers grew by 60% and streams nearly doubled.
Discovery
Other services from past years allow users to discover creators (via First On SoundCloud) and emerging artists (Buzzing Playlists).
“We’ve always taken pride in being the best platform for artists to bring their music from concept to audience,” according to SoundCloud.
“Now we’re making that journey even smoother with a seamless upload experience, helping your music reach listeners, gain fans, and earn quicker with every upload.”
Keep reading about SoundCloud and their updates here.
