Spotify unveiled its insights into Korean and global streaming data through the Loud & Clear 2024 report.
Initially launched in 2021, Loud & Clear is Spotify’s yearly report into music streaming. The report provides a valuable resource for artists and fans worldwide about the big news in streaming economics. Furthermore, Loud & Clear provides information on payouts, royalty systems and processes, artist streaming revenue, and more.
Until now, Spotify remains the only streaming service that publishes this level of data about how much artists are generating each year.
Record-breaking Revenue for Korean Artists on Spotify
According to Spotify, Korean artists were discovered by first-time listeners close to 2.2 billion times in the year 2023 alone. Additionally, the streaming service reported that over 3,600 South Korean artists were added to the editorial playlist.
Notably, Korean artists generated royalties for over KRW 180 billion (approximately USD 138 million) from Spotify. It marks a threefold increase from 2019 and a 780% rise since 2017.
The top 10 countries that streamed Korean artists the most in 2023 were the US, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, India, Thailand, South Korea, and Canada.
Expanding Opportunities for Artists Globally
Not only that, Spotify has also played a pivotal role in supporting artists worldwide. Since its founding, the streaming service has paid the music industry over USD 48 billion (approximately 65.1 trillion).
Remarkably, in 2023, Spotify set the record for the highest annual payment to the music industry from any single retailer, which is over USD 9 billion (approximately KRW 12.2 trillion). The number has nearly tripled over the past six years.
The company also revealed that Indies generated a record-high of nearly USD 4.5 billion (KRW 6.1 trillion) on Spotify in 2023. It represents a fourfold increase from 2017. Moreover, Spotify unveiled that it has paid out nearly USD 4 billion (KRW 5.4 trillion) to publishers, performance rights organizations, and collecting societies for songwriters over the last two years.
Furthermore, Spotify disclosed that over half of the artists who generated at least USD 10,000 (over KRW 13 million) on Spotify are from countries where English is not the first language. Spanish, German, Portuguese, French, and Korean lead the pack for performance in languages other than English.
“Spotify has been a significant and consistent driver of transformation in the global music industry, as demonstrated by its Loud & Clear report. We believe that artists around the world deserve clarity when it comes to the economics of music streaming.
Although it’s only been a little over three years since our launch in South Korea, we are still at an early stage, our Loud & Clear data reflect our commitment to local artists and the music industry. We have, and will continue to, actively work towards expanding the reach of Korean music to a global audience by championing local artists here on the ground and worldwide.”
Spotify Korea Head of Music, Jungjoo Park.
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