Hundreds of independent artists earning over $100K from streaming – AWAL

AWAL said this figure was up 40% year-on-year, although it did not mention the exact number of artists or the names of the biggest earners. The label, which is Kobalt Music Groups' recorded music arm, predicted this trend a while ago.

AWAL has deals with artists such as Die Antwoord, Lauv, Little Simz and Steve Lacy, among others. It only works with independent musicians who own their copyrights, offering services such as marketing, radio promo, A&R and distribution.

Kobalt founder and chairperson Willard Ahdritz says the AWAL artists generating more than $100 000 from streaming have also built impressive catalogues, including owned assets worth $1m.

“Hundreds of AWAL artists have made this $100 000 annual revenue earning very quickly with us, while dozens have rocketed right through to million-dollar annual streaming payouts,” Ahdritz said. “Lucrative streaming royalty payouts and catalogue values no longer favour a select few as this pie is rapidly growing for artists, provided the artist has an AWAL-like deal in place. This is further validation the recorded music industry is in full transformation.”

Speaking to Music Business Worldwide, Ahdritz predicted that more than 100 000 artists around the world would be earning more than $100 000 from music streaming each year by 2025. “And it’s not just about the cash flow. These artists are now millionaires in terms of their assets. So in addition to their streaming income, we’re starting to see [independent] artists able to say, ‘I’m going to sell some of my rights and buy a studio, or buy a house.’ There is real value creation happening here,” he said.

AWAL CEO Lonny Olinick said: “Our goal is to have the vast majority of [AWAL’s] artists earn a living one way or another; that’s really the focus on the platform.”

He added that artists earning $25 000 or $50 000 a year from streaming may then be able to top revenues up towards a six-figure ‘salary’ via merchandise and live ticket sales.

“Artists are looking for the opportunity to stay independent, the opportunity to own their rights, and the opportunity to create the art that they want – without a ceiling on what’s possible. The $100 000 figure is important, but the most important figure here is that multiple millions of dollars are flowing into the system, which is encouraging artists to take a different approach.

"Artists are demonstrating they can both stay independent and build a global, successful career with our support in marketing, creative, synch, funding, audience development, radio promotion and more. Artists no longer have to make trade-offs for their future financial security to reach their full potential,” Olinick said.

Meanwhile, Spotify’s Q2 results revealed that 43 000 artists are now sharing 90% of all plays on its platform. This figure was up from 30 000 in the previous year.