🎵 Amazon Music Royalty Calculator
Estimate your streaming royalty earnings based on plays, tier, territory & distribution split
| Territory | Tier: Unlimited | Tier: HD | Tier: Prime | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $0.00402 | $0.00430 | $0.00350 | Highest payout market |
| United Kingdom | $0.00360 | $0.00395 | $0.00310 | Strong streaming market |
| Europe (avg) | $0.00340 | $0.00370 | $0.00290 | Varies by country |
| Canada | $0.00330 | $0.00360 | $0.00280 | CAD converted to USD |
| Australia | $0.00320 | $0.00355 | $0.00270 | AUD converted to USD |
| Japan | $0.00290 | $0.00320 | $0.00250 | High tier uptake |
| Other / Global | $0.00280 | $0.00310 | $0.00230 | Blended average |
| Target Earnings | Ultra HD Streams | Unlimited Streams | Prime Streams | Free Tier Streams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1.00 | 222 | 249 | 286 | 357 |
| $10.00 | 2,222 | 2,488 | 2,857 | 3,571 |
| $100.00 | 22,222 | 24,876 | 28,571 | 35,714 |
| $500.00 | 111,111 | 124,378 | 142,857 | 178,571 |
| $1,000.00 | 222,222 | 248,756 | 285,714 | 357,143 |
| $5,000.00 | 1,111,111 | 1,243,781 | 1,428,571 | 1,785,714 |
| $10,000.00 | 2,222,222 | 2,487,562 | 2,857,143 | 3,571,429 |
| Distributor Type | Their Cut | Your Share | Net per 100K Streams (Unlimited) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Direct (no distributor) | 0% | 100% | $402.00 |
| DistroKid-style flat fee | ~0-10% | 90-100% | $361.80–$402.00 |
| TuneCore / CD Baby | 15% | 85% | $341.70 |
| Standard Distributor | 20% | 80% | $321.60 |
| Traditional Label Deal | 30% | 70% | $281.40 |
| Co-publishing Deal | 50% | 50% | $201.00 |
| Monthly Streams | 1 Month | 6 Months | 12 Months | 24 Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $4.02 | $24.12 | $48.24 | $96.48 |
| 10,000 | $40.20 | $241.20 | $482.40 | $964.80 |
| 50,000 | $201.00 | $1,206.00 | $2,412.00 | $4,824.00 |
| 100,000 | $402.00 | $2,412.00 | $4,824.00 | $9,648.00 |
| 500,000 | $2,010.00 | $12,060.00 | $24,120.00 | $48,240.00 |
| 1,000,000 | $4,020.00 | $24,120.00 | $48,240.00 | $96,480.00 |
Amazon Music pays artists based on the number of times that their songs get played. The standard rate is around 0.00402 dollars for one play. That results in around 4.02 dollars for every thousand plays and 4020 dollars for a million plays.
That rate matches about half a cent each play which indeed belongs to the highest Amazon Music Royalty income between world music streaming services.
How Amazon Music Pays Artists
However the real amount can change quite a lot. The pay range falls between 0.003 and 0.005 dollars per play, depending on the subscription level. Ad-backed plays in less costly regions maybe give less than 0.001 dollar each, while premium plays can pass 0.007 dollars.
Amazon Music Unlimited and Prime Music differ regarding artist payments, so the level truly matters.
In most cases Amazon Music does not give money directly to artists. Rather, the royalties go to distribution companies, that later hand over the amount to the artists. To get their music on the platform, artists need a middle company or digital distributor instead of uploading songs themselves.
Picking one must consider cost, royalty rates, level of control and extra helps like UPC codes or ISRC records, or even publishing services.
Do not forget the performance royalties too. They get paid too organisations for performance rights, like ASCAP or BMI. Those groups later share the income to publishers and composers based on the usage.
Like this artists benefit from both the streaming royalties and the payments from playing.
The money cycle happens like this. A subscriber or client pays the service. The service takes a small part and passes the biggest share of the income to the distributor or record label.
The distributor gets the money, removes fees for distribution and marketing, repays any deposit and finally gives to the artist based on the contract.
To reach monthly living income in the United States only from Amazon Music, an artist would need at least 366169 plays. This means very many plays.
Some makers noted drops in the stats of Amazon Music plays and late royalty payments. For some months the payments were delayed without clear reason, while other distributors release the Amazon Music Royalty payments sooner. The data in Amazon Music for Artists can change over time and does not count as financial reports.
About royalties or money matters, artists should turn directly to their label or distributor.
Big labels usually have more power on the platform, and changes in the calculation of royalties can touch smaller artists. Amazon moved to a usage-based model for their Amazon Music Royalty payments, which is described ontheir page for commonly asked questions meant for artists.
