Spotify paid $10 billion to the music industry last year, with $4.5 billion to publishers across 2023-24. So why are songwriters still struggling?

Spotify has unveiled its annual Loud & Clear report, highlighting record-breaking royalty payouts and global growth in the music industry. In 2024, Spotify paid out over a whopping $10 billion US to the music industry—more than any other company and the largest annual payout in music history.

The music-streaming giant has long been the target of criticism from artists about paltry payments, but said it doled out record royalties last year.