Photo Credit: Gabriel Tovar

Goldman Sachs has long had a bullish outlook on the global music industry, but its latest ‘Music in the Air’ report reveals the investment bank wildly overestimated recorded music and streaming revenues for 2024. The overestimate has prompted a notable downgrade in its future forecasts—the streaming plateau is here.

Goldman Sachs initially projected a robust 7.6% global music industry growth rate for 2024. However, the actual growth rate clocked in at 6.2%—marking the first time in years that the sector failed to meet the bank’s expectations. The most glaring shortfall in this report was in recorded music. Goldman Sachs forecasted an 8.9% year-on-year increase, but the real figure was only 4.8%—a miss of over four percentage points.

This underperformance is confirmed by IFPI data and has reflected in the broader slowdown, especially the streaming segment. Goldman Sachs predicted a 10% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for streaming between 2024 and 2030, but has now revised this figure down to 7.9%. The most dramatic adjustment comes in ad-supported streaming—where growth rates have plateaued. Growth forecasts for that segment were slashed from 11.3% down to just 5.7% for 2024.

Meanwhile, subscription streaming projections for 2025 were cut from $33 billion to $31.3 billion. Ad-supported streaming also got a forecast downgraded by $2.1 billion to $11.3 billion. As a result of these misses, Goldman Sachs has slashed its future forecasts for recorded music revenue forecasts across the board.

The 2025 projection was cut from $33.9 billion down to $31.4 billion, with growth rates for 2025 and 2025 now expected at 5.8% and 6.6% respectively. That’s down from the previous expected rates of 8.8% (2025) and 8.4% (2026). The bank’s long-term outlook for the sector has also been tempered, it now anticipates a 6.8% CAGR for the global music market through 2030—down from 7.5%.

While the report for streaming and recorded music revenue is a disappointing one, not all segments of the music industry delivered disappointment. Live music and physical sales of CDs and vinyl outperformed or met expectations. That’s mostly due to superfans and resilient demand for physical music. Music publishing remained stable with forecasts unchanged at $10.7 billion for 2025.

This report underscores a pivotal moment for the music industry. After years or rapid expansion, growth is slowing, particularly in the recorded music and streaming markets. The bank’s overestimation has led to a more cautious and realistic outlook—with future projections now reflecting the sector’s evolving dynamics and challenges as the digital landscape matures.

Snoop Dogg, one of the defendants looking to dismiss a $107 million lawsuit filed by Lydia Harris. Photo Credit: Bruce Baker

A federal court has officially ordered a stay in Lydia Harris’ $107 million lawsuit against Snoop Dogg, Universal Music, Death Row Records, and several others.

Judge David Hittner just recently signed off on the defendants’ stay request pending the resolution of their respective dismissal pushes. We covered one of those pushes in late April, when Snoop Dogg and Death Row urged the court to toss the suit and to label the pro se plaintiff a vexatious litigant.

Long story short, Harris is the ex-wife of Death Row co-founder Michael Harris and, following Snoop Dogg’s 2022 acquisition of the label, says she’s owed big for her purported stake.

That’s despite the $107 million default judgement that a court ordered Suge Knight to pay her years back. (Knight is behind bars on a voluntary manslaughter conviction.) Per Harris, strategic bankruptcy maneuvering and asset-concealment efforts prevented her from collecting the sizable sum.

As noted, however, Snoop and his team are refuting the position in no uncertain terms. Meanwhile, attorney David Kenner, also a defendant, is himself urging the court to toss the suit for failure to state a claim – as are Universal Music, Lucian Grainge, and Jimmy Iovine in a different motion yet.

And at least as of early May, Harris was looking to bring even more defendants into the fold.

“Plaintiff now seeks leave to file a Supplemental and Amended Complaint to add the following defendants: Marion ‘Suge’ Knight, [attorney] Dermont Givens [sic], and [hip-hop label exec] Alan Grunblatt,” she wrote at the time.

“These individuals are believed to have played a central role in orchestrating fraudulent Bankruptcy fraud in addition to the contrived pretrial summary judgement filings,” proceeded Harris.

It’s against this backdrop that Judge Hittner granted the above-mentioned stay request.

Though the corresponding order doesn’t dive into the precise reasons for approval, it does note that a previously scheduled pretrial conference is on ice while the dismissal motions play out.

As things stand, we’ll have to wait and see where said motions go from here; related updates hadn’t made their way into the docket at the time of writing. Also silent on the overarching suit is Harris, who has already addressed the case in lengthy interviews.

But she doesn’t seem to have publicly weighed in as of late. Plus, her Instagram profile appears to have been set to private.

A live performance from Pusha T as part of Clipse. Photo Credit: Ben Sisto

Let the Drake v. Universal Music fallout continue: According to Pusha T, execs at the major’s Def Jam subsidiary urged him to censor a Kendrick Lamar guest verse on Clipse’s forthcoming album. The ‘request’ ended up blowing up the label deal.

The decidedly interesting tidbit emerged in a new GQ interview with both Pusha T and his brother Malice, who are set to release Let God Sort Em Out as Clipse next month. The duo’s first album since 2009, this Pharrell Williams-produced project was initially expected to drop via Def Jam/UMG.

As described by Pusha, Def Jam approved of the album – save a Kendrick Lamar guest verse on “Chains & Whips.” The way Pusha tells the story, despite his public remarks about difficulties getting the touring Lamar into the studio, the recording process wrapped a while ago.

But after the Lamar-Drake showdown took center stage – and fueled an ugly lawsuit between the latter rapper as well as Universal Music – UMG was hesitant to release the track (and the album) if it contained Lamar’s lines.

How hesitant, you might ask?

Though Pusha says the relevant bars aren’t direct or even indirect shots at Drake, Def Jam allegedly pushed him to “censor” the guest appearance. Evidently, he was unwilling to do so – hence last week’s announcement that Let God Sort Em Out would become available through Roc Nation.

In fact, besides allowing Clipse to find a new professional home, Def Jam also let Pusha (who himself had a comparatively small Drake beef years ago) walk from his solo contract, per the interview.

However, “allowing” and “let” don’t necessarily paint a full picture here. In a separate sit down, Pusha manager Steven Victor elaborated that Clipse had coughed up a seven-figure sum to exit the contract.

Translation: the Drake showdown is having a very real effect on Universal Music’s releases and artist contracts. With the high-stakes battle still in full swing – Team Drake closed out May by pushing back against UMG’s dismissal motion – it’ll certainly be worth keeping the point in mind moving forward.

(Side note: Lamar reportedly removed several Drake attacks from “Euphoria” as well, Top Dawg’s Terrence “Punch” Henderson revealed earlier in 2025.)

Running with the important idea (and the possible implications for not just future diss tracks, but all rap efforts), Drake’s attorneys are adamant that “Not Like Us” actually caused the public to believe that their client is a pedophile.

“UMG’s theory is that all of this was ‘hyperbole’—a harmless joke that no reasonable person would take seriously because it was part of a ‘rap battle,’” Drake’s counsel summed up in the late-May filing.

“But UMG’s theory collides with the reality that the Recording’s false allegations of pedophilia, broadcast to the entire world via the most powerful music company, have proven to be toxic and indelible. In other words, UMG’s ‘just joking’ narrative runs headfirst into the concrete facts,” they continued.

Photo Credit: The Cars by E.J. Camp

Primary Wave Music announces a royalty deal with The Cars. This deal comes less than a year after partnering with the Estate of Ric Ocasek on his publishing catalog.

Independent publisher Primary Wave Music has announced their partnership with The Cars. Terms of the deal will see the publisher acquire the band’s artist royalties. It comes less than a year after Primary Wave partnered with the Estate of Ric Ocasek on his music publishing catalog—including all songs from his time with The Cars.

Included in the deal are some of The Cars’ biggest hits, such as “Just What I Needed,” “You Might Think,” “My Best Friend’s Girl,” “Drive,” and many more. Released in 1984, “Drive” was the band’s highest charting single, soaring to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 on release. The song topped the Adult Contemporary chart and went on to be nominated for a Grammy in the category “Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.”

“Together with last year’s partnership for Ric Ocasek’s publishing, Primary Wave is uniquely positioned to preserve and honor the legacy of The Cars,” says Samantha Rhulen, SVP of Business and Legal Affairs at Primary Wave. “Their music has left a lasting imprint on culture and continues to inspire fans and musicians around the world. It’s a privilege to be entrusted with this partnership.”

The Cars formed in Boston in 1976, fronted by singer, songwriter, and rhythm guitarist Ric Ocasek, bassist and vocalist Benjamin Orr, lead guitarist Elliot Easton, keyboardist Greg Hawkes, and drummer David Robinson. Combining elements of new wave, rock, and pop, The Cars quickly became one of the most influential and successful bands during this time. Their music was characterized by catchy hooks, sleek production, and a blend of synthesizers and guitar-driven rock.

The Cars reached the height of their popularity with Heartbeat City in 1984, an album that produced several major hits, including “Drive,” “You Might Think,” and “Magic.” The album was also recognized for its innovative music videos, particularly for “You Might Think,” which won the first-ever MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year. During this time, The Cars became one of the biggest bands in the world, selling millions of albums and filling arenas with energetic live performances.

The band’s legacy was officially recognized when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their music continues to influence new generations of artists, and their blend of rock, new wave, and pop remains a staple of classic rock radio.

Photo Credit: Fever

Fever secures over $100 million in funding to expand its position in live experiences, namely music and sports.

Fever has now secured over $100 million in funding from L Catterton and Point72 Private Investors through the completion of an equity funding process, including existing investors, according to details shared this morning with Digital Music News.

The technology platform—now operating in over 40 countries—has structured partnerships with a number of institutions across all live entertainment verticals, specifically within sports and live music. Fever now reaches hundreds of millions of people through its discovery platform and media, according to the company.

Fever says it has built a multi-category, data-driven ecosystem that connects millions of fans worldwide with venues, festivals, and independent promoters.

Some recent marquee partnerships include independent promoters like TCE Presents, Cercle Music, and Last Tour; iconic venues like the Clapham Grand and Brooklyn Storehouse; and festivals like Rock in Rio Lisboa, Primavera Sound, and Pitchfork Music Festival.

The platform also provides ticketing and demand generation for sports organizations and events including Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, LIV Golf, and the X Games.

On the revenue side, Fever says it has achieved over 20x revenue growth from pre-pandemic levels, while maintaining full-year EBITDA profitability.

Fever says it is now exploring opportunities to work with the New York Mets, owned by Point72 Chairman and CEO Steve Cohen, to further enhance fan engagement through experiences.

Fever will also leverage L Catterton’s consumer insights and look to unlock new opportunities to engage audiences through experiential marketing and branded events, in line with the growing trend of brands leveraging live experiences to strengthen customer connections.

Guitarist, producer, and songwriter Jake Fine talks about his ‘cohesive vision’ for Lo-fi projects ‘azayaka‘ and ‘Tone Bo,’ retaining the essence of emotion in his music, how ‘the creative process kicks in,’ and using Downtown Music’s bespoke service to tackle unique music challenges.

The following recaps an interview with Jake Fine as part of Downtown Music’s series, The Music Industry Lives Here. Downtown Music is a company DMN is proud to be partnering with.

Jake Fine grew up in a ‘musical family.’ However, when he left his small Jewish school, which had 100 students for a public school in town with a jazz program, the moment marked a crucial step in his identity as a musician.

“I was overwhelmed. I didn’t know how to play Jazz and was yelled at by the instructors, but I had assimilated those steps into my identity. Those were the baby steps. [I questioned,] What does that mean in terms of what I do and how I navigate the world?”

Although Fine never sought a formal music education, he attended Berklee College to gain ‘a path to follow.’

Each step brought Fine an ‘in-over-my-head’ moment within that creative community, but he looked inward for the correct answers. “What’s my role at this music college full of skilled people? How deeply do I want to explore each aspect of the craft?”

That self-reflection followed Fine well through Berklee and beyond. “That existential question of what are the things I want to do to create within this community?”

Fine’s musical identity, he explains, is one that ‘doesn’t overwhelm or feel calculated. “It’s more fulfilling.”

“In my Lo-fi ‘azayaka’ catalog, you find melodies that you can hum to. Some people call it background music, but there’s jam. There’s the musical intention behind it. I try to retain that.”

Fine’s instrumental music catalog now has over 150 songs. “At the top of my mind is being perceived as [someone] retaining a high level of musicality, but also being intentional about giving the song what it needs.”

For Fine, true contentment comes from ‘making songs that last.’ He explains, “There are subtle ranges with jazz hop, chill hop, sad beats, and sleepy beats. Whichever one I’m making retains the essence of that emotional thread.”

Viewing his craft as a ‘sequel,’ Fine is constantly aiming to ‘achieve something just a little bit better, but with similar textures.’

“I like listening to my older songs. I had less skill, but my musical sensibility was still there. I’ll hear the instrumentation and the feel and the tempo and think: what was I doing in a beginner mindset that I can achieve better now?”

“As long as I can draw inspiration, I will be as prolific as I can. And there are plenty of artists out there to draw inspiration from. Hopefully, that keeps it fresh,” he said.

Fine is committed to going wherever inspiration takes him. “Ask me in two years. I’ll be making Lo-fi for 6 or 7 years at that point. Who knows? Maybe I’ll try to integrate more electronic sound design at that point. Maybe I’ll feel like I need something fresh?”

Diving into his collaborative creative process, Fine explains that it involves discussing life, then extracting the emotional context — ‘and trying to understand what they want to create and what they want to say.’

“If you’re doing something with an artist, you’re there to serve the music that they want to create — especially if there’s a writer involved.”

“Often, my job as someone more skilled in that setting with specific instruments is that I grab an instrument and offer up something. Certain chord progressions. Certain moods.”

“If you’re skilled with sound design or drums, you’re probably going to begin with that. So, I start with picking up a guitar. That’s just the way in. Find a chord progression everyone feels passionate about. Move forward.”

Although much of the creative process appears spontaneous, Fine clarifies that he has always made a lot of time investment behind the scenes.

“I’ve done my research. I know what [those] artists created. I’ve listened to their catalog. I’ve even thought of a few chord progressions.”

However, that preparation might fall short. “Sometimes I’m [collaborating with] an R&B artist, but they [say they] love Mitski.”

That’s when spontaneity comes into play. “Now, I’m trying to create a heavier indie world.”

When it comes to creative flow for his projects ‘azayaka’ and ‘Tone Bo,’ surprises and confusion are not part of the process.

“I know that whole ecosystem. I know the genre. I know what I want to create, and I know which drums I want to grab. That’s an easy flow state. I’ve written over 150 songs; I know what I want out of it.”

“I make a chord progression that I love on a felt piano or a guitar. Put the layers in and get the drums going. It doesn’t take too long now, but that’s after 200 reps.”

Fine’s cohesive vision for his Lo-fi tracks is about ‘finding my sound.’ “I want to create music that I genuinely feel proud of.”

As an artist, Fine aims to create music that people enjoy and appreciate. But as a producer, his goal is multilayered — with strategic ambition.

“There’s a certain level of success that I want to achieve. I’ve had to make space for that ambition. When you can circle back to allow yourself to be hungry to achieve something, it feels really good.”

“I want my name to be synonymous with a high level of quality. That journey is multifaceted because it’s such a hard craft to master.”

“After putting in 10,000 hours, it’s not wrong to want to achieve a certain level of quality in your work and a certain level of success to be attached to that. That is a positive thing.”

To fulfill his ambition, Fine requires a publishing process that can keep up. “Having a bespoke service with the Downtown team has made it easy for me. I’ve got my system going, and it works well.”

As most of Fine’s music is released independently, it requires a service that can overcome challenges unique to his genre. “I send in Atmos mixes and have them connected to the correct ISRC. I need all that done correctly because I don’t want to have to do it twice. With songs released every week and every two weeks, I need the Atmos connected.”

“Downtown has provided me with a good platform for consistently releasing songs, and my royalties are collected properly. And when something goes wrong, needs replacement, or that shaker’s too loud, [the team] have the ability to replace the master and update the publishing to different DSPs.”

To artists just beginning their journey as songwriters, producers, etc., Fine says, “Any platform that can help you collect money that is rightfully yours, and to capitalize on the intellectual property that is yours — that’s a good thing. A platform that helps you fairly split money without too much logistic complication. That’s a positive thing.”

“Downtown has checked those boxes for me. It’s part of my system as a producer and creator with multiple artist projects.”

About The Music Industry Lives Here: Downtown Music’s interview series allows powerful conversations with the voices shaping the music industry. To gain weekly access to exclusive interviews with music executives, artists, record label owners, and influential figures who drive the rhythm of the industry, join here.

How much do artists make per stream? Reported per-stream payouts from top music streaming services (updated for 2021; click to enlarge)

How much do artists make per stream on the most popular streaming music services? Here’s a breakdown for Pandora, Napster, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and more (updated for 2022).

Based on information directly received from artists and indie labels, as well as various published sources, we can rank streaming music services according to their per-stream rate. So how much do artists make per stream? Given extreme variations in payouts, the answer largely depends on the platform involved. Take a look.

Napster remains king of streaming music payouts, but total usage is lower.

With Microsoft’s Groove Music shutting down, Napster became king of streaming music service payouts.

The service had paid $0.01682 per play.  According to two sources – Information Is Beautiful and David Crosby – that number has steadily risen.  On average, Napster now pays out $0.019 per stream.  To meet the monthly minimum wage amount in the US of $1,472, an artist would need 77,474 total plays.

With 5 million paying subscribers, the service loses around $7.00 per user.  Unlike its rivals, however, Napster remains a profitable streaming music service.

Jay-Z’s beleaguered TIDAL remains a top player, at least in terms of payouts.

This year, Jay-Z’s streaming music platform, TIDAL, has remained embroiled in multiple controversies.  These include accusations of hacking users’ accounts to inflate Beyoncé and Kanye West’s total streams.

Nevertheless, the service had remained friendly to artists. But the service reportedly paid out $0.01284 per stream earlier this year. That number has fallen slightly to $0.0125, according to more recent data. Artists on TIDAL now need 117,760 total plays to earn $1,472.

Jay-Z’s streaming music service reportedly loses $6.67 per user with an annual loss of $28 million.

Apple Music takes third place.

How much does Apple Music pay per stream? Historically, Apple Music has paid artists much better than its streaming music rival, Spotify.

Back 2017, the service paid $0.0064 per stream. By last year, that number had risen to $0.00783. Now, Apple Music has upped its rate further: in April of 2021, the platform announced that its artists would receive a royalty rate of 1 cent ($0.01) per stream.

Artists on Apple Music would need around 147,200 plays to earn the US monthly minimum wage amount.

With Apple closely guarding its user metrics, it remains unclear how much Apple Music loses each year on the service as well as per user.

Deezer falls to fourth place.

Launching several years ago in the US, French-based streaming music service Deezer still doesn’t have an established presence in the country.

Back in 2018, at $0.0056, the service topped GPM in terms of payouts. By 2019, Deezer paid $0.00624. That number has slowly risen to $0.0064, placing it right behind GPM. Artists will need 230,000 total plays to earn the US monthly minimum wage amount.

Deezer recently reported an annual loss of $27 million, losing $1.69 per user. Deezer reportedly has 16 million users, with around 9.12 million – or 57% – paying for the service.

Amazon falls behind.

As with Napster, Apple, and Google, Amazon closely guards its user metrics.

Earlier this year, The Trichordist found Amazon paid indie artists $0.0074 per play. That number has now plummeted to $0.00402, placing it just above Spotify. Artists will now need around 366,169 total streams to earn the monthly minimum wage amount in the US.

How much do artists make per stream on Spotify?

Spotify’s per-stream rate ranks as one of the worst, and it appears to be falling. According to the latest data, Spotify pays most artists between $.003 and $.005 (one-third of a penny to one-half of a penny) for each stream. 

Back in December 2019, you may have read our report on cellist Zoe Keating’s receiving a $753 check from Spotify, as compensation for 206,011 streams. Rounding up, the sum represents a per-stream royalty rate of $0.0037 – down from Keating’s 2018 Spotify royalty rate of about $0.0054. Separately, mechanical royalty firm Audiam also suggested that Spotify royalties have decreased despite rising subscriber counts and revenue.

Of course, there are plenty of Spotify alternatives. But as of 2022, Spotify remains the largest streaming music platform worldwide — which means you have little choice but to play ball with them.

Pandora continues to struggle.

Back in 2018, despite having the second-highest amount of total users in the US, Pandora paid artists $0.0011 per play. By 2019, the digital radio service slightly increased that rate to $0.00134. The company has now settled at paying artists $0.00133 on Pandora Premium. Artists will now need 1,106,767 total plays on Pandora Premium just to earn $1,472.

YouTube pulls a U-Turn.

Historically, YouTube hasn’t ever been an artist-friendly platform, thanks to its horrendous payouts.

In 2017, the popular video platform paid $0.0006 per play. By 2019, the company had increased its rate to $0.00074.

But YouTube executives have now pulled a U-Turn, choosing to pay artists $0.00069. To earn the monthly minimum wage amount in the US, artists will need around 2,133,333 total plays on YouTube.

The video platform reportedly loses $174 million each year, with loss per user calculated at $0.17.

So, what’s our advice?

Once again, please don’t ever make a career out of your earnings on the popular video platform.  Trust us.  You’ll regret it.