How many Spotify streams equal one physical sale? (2024)

The RIAA sets the magic number at 1,500 streams = one sale, for the purposes of tracking gold, platinum, etc. albums…

The bad news is that figure is particularly useless if you're trying to figure out how many streams you need to earn what a CD or vinyl sale would have.

There's good news though, too!

I've created the first calculator in the world that will tell you how many streams of a song or album you would need to earn as much as you would with one sale of a physical copy.

The best part? It's completely free to use!

How many Spotify streams equal one physical sale? (2024)

FAQs

How many Spotify streams equal one physical sale? ›

Ever wondered how many streams equal one sale? The RIAA sets the magic number at 1,500 streams = one sale, for the purposes of tracking gold, platinum, etc. albums…

How many Spotify streams count as a sale? ›

150 streams = 1 track sale. For albums, all official audio and video streams (SEA) from within the US are counted in addition to TEA and pure sales. 1500 streams = 10 track sales = 1 album sale.

How many streams equal a single sale? ›

There needs to be some standard in order to account for all the different ways people consume music today, and that standard is the album-equivalent unit. The standard as the RIAA (Record Industry Association of America) defines it is as follows: One album sale equals 10 song downloads or 1,500 song streams.

Does 1500 streams equal 1 record sale? ›

Album sales, single sales, and on-demand audio and/or video streams are calculated at the formula of 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams = 10 track sales = 1 album sale.

How much does 1 Spotify stream equal? ›

On average, Spotify pays artists between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream. Therefore, for 1 million streams, an artist can expect to earn approximately $3,000 to $5,000.

How many streams to make $1000 on Spotify? ›

How many streams on Spotify = $1000? On average, you'll have to earn 300,000 to 350,000 streams to generate roughly $1000. Due to those variables we mentioned above, however, streams are not created equally.

How many streams equal a gold plaque? ›

Therefore, to achieve a gold certification, a release would need to accumulate 625 million subscription streams or 1.875 billion free streams.

Does a stream count as a sale? ›

For example, 10 track downloads or 1,500 track streams may be equivalent to one album sale. Streaming Equivalent Albums (SEA): The total number of on-demand audio and video streams of both tracks and albums is converted into the equivalent of album sales.

How much is 100000 streams on Spotify? ›

As for how much Spotify pays per stream, they pay roughly $0.00238 per stream. This is based on the Worldwide Average (all the countries added up, divided by number of countries). So, 1000 streams would be around $2.38, and 100,000 streams would be $238, and 1,000,000 streams would be $2380.

How many sales to go gold? ›

A Gold record is a song or album that sells 500,000 units (records, tapes, and compact discs).

How much is 1k streams worth? ›

Spotify pays roughly $0.04 per 10 streams, which means you'd need 1,000 streams to generate $4 in revenue. This is influenced by various factors, like country, subscription type, and licensing agreements.

Do my own streams count? ›

DO NOT stream your own music on repeat. This too, even when done unwittingly, is a form of fraud. It is unethical to stream your own music on repeat in an attempt to boost play counts or drive streaming revenue.

Who is the highest paid artist on Spotify? ›

This put Taylor Swift's total earnings at over $310 million. Drake is the top-earning male artist, while BTS secure their position as the top-earning band.

How much does Spotify pay Taylor Swift? ›

Taylor Swift will earn more than $100 million from Spotify in 2023, according to calculations based on her leading number of streams for the year posted by the streaming giant in its year-end “Wrapped” tally.

How many streams on Spotify is considered a hit? ›

To answer this question, we need to look at the various streaming services available. The most popular streaming service is Spotify, with over 100 million active users. According to Spotify, a song is considered a hit if it has been streamed on the service 500,000 times.

What do Spotify streams count towards? ›

Music video streams (30 seconds or more) count towards the all-time streams for the associated song and any release the song is on. In Spotify for Artists, all-time streams is currently the only stat that counts music video streams.

Do Spotify streams count on mute? ›

Muted song plays are not counted by Spotify. The music must not be muted while being streamed in order for the stream to be counted.

Does Spotify count streams on repeat? ›

Spotify counts a stream if someone listens to a song for 30 seconds or more. It also counts repeat streams. However, streaming your own song on repeat is definitely not a good idea, as Spotify flags suspicious activity.

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