How Much Does Apple Music Pay Per Stream in the UK?
Apple Music pays about £0.008 a stream, which is roughly two and a half times what Spotify pays. That is an estimate. Apple does not publish a rate.
Here is where the figure comes from, how it compares, and why it is only half the story.
What does Apple Music pay per stream?
Apple told artists and labels in a letter that it pays about one cent a stream on average. That is a US dollar figure, and it is an average across plans, not what any single play earns. In pounds it is close to £0.008.
Apple says it pays every creator the same rate. What changes is the listener. A stream from a full price paid plan earns more than a stream on a cheaper plan, and it also depends on the country the listener is in.
How does it compare with the others?
| Platform | Estimated pay per stream | Streams for £100 |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Music | £0.008 | 12,500 |
| Spotify | £0.003 | 33,333 |
| YouTube Music | £0.0015 | 66,667 |
Spotify's figure is measured on a real distributor account. The Apple and YouTube Music figures are commonly quoted estimates. All three are before your distributor takes its fee.
You can run your own streams through our streaming royalty calculator guide.
Why does Apple Music pay more?
Mostly because there is no free tier on the music service. Every listener pays. The money from those subscriptions is pooled and shared out by total streams, the same pooled model as Spotify. A smaller pool of paying listeners gives a higher figure per play.
It does not mean you earn more overall. Spotify has far more listeners. If most of your fans use Spotify, the lower rate on more plays still wins.
Is the pooled model the real problem?
That is the part nobody quotes. On Apple Music and Spotify, one pot is shared by everybody's plays. A fan who loves you and plays you twice this month is worth almost nothing to you. A fan who plays a huge artist all day pushes that artist's share up.
RAAYDR works differently. Each fan's subscription is shared between the artists that fan actually played. At full attention, one fan on the standard plan is worth up to £3.56 a month to the artist they play. To earn that on Apple Music you would need around 445 streams from one fan, every month.
55% of a £9.99 subscription after VAT, publishing royalties and card fees. Actual earnings depend on your share of each fan's listening.
We explain it step by step in how attention based payment works.
What should you do with this?
- Do not pick a platform on the per stream rate alone. Look at where your listeners already are. - Keep your music on Apple Music and Spotify. They are where people discover you. - Work out what a real fan is worth, not what a play is worth. - Make sure you are registered for the writing money as well. See PRS vs PPL.
Join the waitlist and we will tell you when listeners can join.
FAQ
- How much does Apple Music pay per stream in the UK?
- There is no published rate. The best estimate is about £0.008 a stream, based on Apple saying it averages around one cent.
- Is Apple Music better than Spotify for artists?
- Per stream, yes. Overall it depends on where your listeners are, because Spotify has more of them.
- Does Apple Music pay the same for every artist?
- Apple says it pays every creator the same rate. Your total depends on the plans and countries your listeners are in.
- Does Apple Music pay songwriters separately?
- Yes. Songwriters are paid for the writing through a society such as PRS, apart from the recording income.
- How many Apple Music streams to make £100?
- Around 12,500 at the estimated rate. It will vary.
Apple does not publish a per stream rate. The Apple Music and YouTube Music figures are commonly quoted estimates and Spotify's is measured on one independent artist's distributor data, as of October 2026. Apple's one cent average is from its letter to rightsholders as reported in the press. RAAYDR hasn't launched to listeners yet, so figures for RAAYDR describe the published model, not observed payouts.
