How do artist payouts on Tidal and Bandcamp compare to Spotify per stream and per sale?
Executive summary
Tidal’s per‑stream averages cited in recent reporting sit around $0.012–$0.013 per stream, while most summaries put Spotify near $0.003–$0.005 per stream — meaning Tidal pays roughly 3–4× Spotify on a per‑stream basis in many comparisons [1] [2] [3]. Bandcamp is a direct‑sale platform where artists keep about 82–90% of sale revenue (Bandcamp takes 15% for digital, dropping to 10% after $5,000), so a single album or track sale on Bandcamp commonly yields far more income than a single stream on any service [4] [5] [6].
1. Per‑stream face‑off: Tidal vs Spotify — pennies that add up
Most industry guides and calculators cited here place Tidal among the highest per‑stream payers, commonly around $0.012–$0.013 per stream, which equates to roughly 80–83 streams to earn $1 [1] [7] [8]. Spotify’s commonly quoted per‑stream range in these same sources sits roughly $0.003–$0.005 per stream, meaning an artist needs many more Spotify plays to hit the same dollars [2] [3] [9]. Different outlets use different averages — some analyses (Benn Jordan cited by MusicRadar) show Tidal lower (around $0.0078) and Spotify around $0.003–$0.005 — which demonstrates that headline “Tidal pays X times Spotify” claims vary by methodology [9].
2. Why the numbers diverge: methodology and market structure
Per‑stream figures are averages built from platform revenue shares, subscriber mixes (premium vs ad‑supported), geographic splits, and how much of the platform’s pool goes to rights holders; outlets use different datasets and assumptions, so reported per‑stream rates differ [7]. Tidal’s higher per‑stream estimates are tied in reporting to its smaller user base and higher proportion of paid/subscriber revenue compared with a giant like Spotify, so a stream on Tidal can statistically be worth more in pooled payouts [10] [11]. Sources also note some surprising outliers — niche platforms (or nontraditional services like Peloton) can show much higher per‑stream numbers in specific analyses [9].
3. Bandcamp: a sale‑first model, not “per‑stream” economics
Bandcamp’s economics are fundamentally different: it’s built on direct sales, not ad/subscription pools. Bandcamp takes 15% on digital music (dropping to 10% after $5,000 in sales) and 10% on physical goods; artists receive payouts quickly (usually 24–48 hours) and retain the large majority of sale revenue [4] [5] [12]. That means a $10 album sale on Bandcamp typically nets roughly $8.50 before payment‑processor fees — vastly larger than the fractions of a cent a single stream yields on streaming platforms [4] [5].
4. Real‑world snapshot: what bands report
Artists’ published earnings illustrate the gap. In one example cited, band Los Campesinos! reported receiving 0.75p per Tidal stream vs 0.29p per Spotify stream — more than double on Tidal for their dataset — underscoring that averages can also show stark real payments to acts [13]. Such band‑level breakdowns reflect each artist’s listener geography, split across platforms, and rights‑holder arrangements — not a universal per‑stream law [13].
5. Tradeoffs: discovery, volume, and strategy
Sources consistently present the tradeoff: Spotify offers unmatched reach and discovery (huge user and playlist scale) even if its per‑stream average is lower; Tidal offers higher per‑stream rates but a much smaller user base, limiting potential volume [14] [10]. Bandcamp removes the streaming‑payout problem by converting fans into direct purchasers; it’s most lucrative for artists with engaged fans who will buy music or merch rather than passively stream [6] [5].
6. What this means for artists and fans deciding where to send plays or dollars
If your goal is maximizing per‑play income, Tidal (or niche services) often pays more per stream in the sources cited; if your goal is discovery and scaling listenership, Spotify’s reach still dominates [1] [14]. If you want to maximize immediate revenue per transaction, Bandcamp sales almost always beat single streams because artists keep 85–90% after Bandcamp’s cut and processor fees [4] [5]. These conclusions reflect the datasets and methodologies used by the cited publications; the exact dollar figures change by report and over time [7] [9].
Limitations and sources: All numerical claims above are pulled from the supplied reporting and Bandcamp’s help and policy pages; variations exist across analyses and specific artist situations, and the available sources do not provide a single universally agreed per‑stream authority [1] [2] [3] [7] [12] [4] [13].