How does artist, like Madonna, get paid by Apple Music or Spotify when they play her music? Does she get paid every time we listen to one of her songs?

Question

How does artist, like Madonna, get paid by Apple Music or Spotify when they play her music? Does she get paid every time we listen to one of her songs?

In: 6

Answer 1

Keep in mind the money doesn’t go to the artist per se, it goes to the owner of the music. Rick Astley doesn’t get spit per play, the owner of that particular song does.

Some performers own all of their music, some own none, many split it one way or another. Works the same in acting. Sir Alec Guinnes (Obi Wan) wasn’t impressed with the money he was paid (he was pretty much the only recognized actor in the original trilogy) so he required residuals on top of that. The franchise was far more powerful than anyone expected and he made over $100M on residuals alone, far more than he was paid, while most of the other actors got shafted.