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Subscription-based music streaming service
Several clear ethical alternatives to Spotify exist, each emphasizing different remedies to the platform’s most criticized practices: and prioritize direct artist revenue and cooperative governance, a...
Tidal and Bandcamp are commonly presented as more “artist-friendly” than Spotify: several outlets note Tidal’s higher per‑stream payouts and Bandcamp’s direct‑to‑fan sales model and Bandcamp Fridays t...
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...
Most independent reporting and calculators in 2025 show niche, premium services pay the most per stream: Peloton and Napster appear at the very top in some breakdowns (Peloton ≈ $0.03; Napster ≈ $0.01...
Spotify ran at least one paid U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recruitment advertisement on its platform in October 2025; Spotify says the ad complied with its advertising policies and w...
Qobuz publicly disclosed and had independently validated that it paid an average of US$0.01873 per stream to rights holders in 2024, a figure the company and multiple trade outlets say places it among...
Several artists and hundreds of labels have removed or geo-blocked music from major streaming services for a mix of reasons that include political protest, ethical objections to platform ties, and lon...
Available reporting shows estimates vary widely but cluster around Deezer paying modestly more per stream than Spotify while Apple Music and TIDAL generally pay more than both. Example published estim...
The collected analyses consistently identify and a handful of smaller or niche services as paying the highest per-stream royalties, while and large ad-supported services pay substantially less per str...
Industry estimates and niche analyses in 2025 show smaller or specialist services pay the highest average per-stream rates: Napster and Qobuz frequently top lists (Napster ~$0.019–$0.021; Qobuz up to ...
In 2025, niche and smaller services report the highest average payouts per stream: Napster is cited around $0.019–$0.021 per stream , and TIDAL commonly appears near $0.0125–$0.01284 per stream . Majo...
Tidal and Bandcamp have recently taken explicit public steps that relate to artist rights and pay: Tidal launched a direct-upload tool and large cash contests but says uploaded tracks "do not earn roy...
is the principal streaming company singled out in the reporting for ties between leadership investments and AI weapons firms—coverage alleges Spotify CEO/co‑founder has backed AI drone maker , prompti...
TIDAL is majority owned by Block, Inc. (formerly Square), a financial-technology company founded and chaired by Jack Dorsey, which agreed in March 2021 to acquire a controlling stake for about $297 mi...
Tidal — the streaming service originally tied to Jay‑Z — has a public record of charitable giving toward social justice causes, most notably a $1.5 million pledge connected to Black Lives Matter in 20...
Deezer has no documented record in the provided reporting of having donated to Donald Trump, his inauguration, or Republican political causes; Deezer’s own Code of Ethics explicitly forbids direct or ...
Streaming payouts in 2025–2026 remain a landscape of ranges, not fixed cents: established data and industry trackers show Spotify among the lower-paying mainstream services (roughly $0.003–$0.005 per ...
In 2025 the highest per‑stream payouts skewed toward smaller, paid‑only or audiophile platforms—Napster, TIDAL, Apple Music and niche services like Qobuz reported the strongest per‑stream averages—whi...
Purchase- or premium‑centric revenue (users who pay for subscriptions or buy tracks) typically yields higher per‑stream and per‑user receipts than ad‑supported listening, giving mid‑career and indepen...
Streaming platforms pool subscription and ad revenue, keep a platform cut, then allocate the remaining “royalty pool” to rights holders using either a market‑share (pro‑rata) or, increasingly in debat...