Spotify’s Loud & Clear initiative, which reveals data about stream counts and royalty payouts on the platform, has unveiled 2024 data for Italy and Spain.
And while the data shows solid growth in music consumption and artists’ earnings in Spain, it’s Italy’s numbers that steal the show.
Royalties generated by Italian artists on Spotify jumped 20% year-on-year in 2024, to nearly EUR €150 million, or around USD $162 million at the average exchange rate for last year.
Equally notably, Italian-language music is seeing a surge in popularity globally – at least on Spotify. For the first time, Italian-language music joined the “$100 million-plus” club, that is, those languages whose music generates at least $100 million in royalties per year.
Italian has joined seven other languages in this club: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, and Spanish. Back in 2017, only English and Spanish surpassed the $100 million threshold.
(To be clear, this list isn’t a perfect reflection of which language’s music is most popular worldwide; it’s impacted by Spotify’s footprint. If Spotify were available in China, Mandarin would undoubtedly be on the list.)
Spotify noted that about 50% of the royalties earned by Italian artists came from outside Italy. Globally, royalties earned on Italian music jumped 23% YoY. Spotify users in the US have created 130 million playlists featuring Italian artists, a higher number than in Italy itself, Spotify said.
“Streaming truly allows more artists to succeed and be heard both in their own country and around the world. The money paid to artists and the number of artists benefiting from it is growing year by year,” said Federica Tremolada, General Manager Europe at Spotify.
“But the music industry’s growth isn’t just financial – it’s cultural. We are living in a music industry without borders like never before. Fans are driving this new era of musical success, and Spotify’s role is to connect even more listeners around the world.”
“We are living in a music industry without borders like never before.”
Federica Tremolada, Spotify
Italy has been seeing some of the fastest recorded music market growth of any developed country. According to data from music industry trade group FIMI, recorded music revenues grew 8.5% YoY in 2024, to €461.2 million ($499.1 million).
Music streaming subscriptions accounted for 44.1% of that figure, growing 17.1% YoY to €204.9 million ($221.8 million).
About 40% of the royalties generated by Italian artists in 2024 came from music by indie artists or labels, the platform said, which is somewhat lower than the average across Spotify as a whole. Earlier this year, Spotify said about half of royalties were accounted for by indies.
Meanwhile, Spotify’s data for Spain showed another growing market – though at a somewhat slower pace than Italy.
Royalties generated by Spanish artists on Spotify jumped 11% YoY to €137 million ($148 million), and more than 50% of royalties came from listeners outside Spain – perhaps not a surprise, given the size of the Spanish-speaking music market outside Spain.
That represents a somewhat faster pace of growth than Spain’s recorded music market as a whole, which saw revenues grow 9.4% YoY to €568.8 million ($615.5 million) in 2024, according to industry group Promusicae.
“Music performed in Spanish continues to rise globally, ranking among the top-performing languages on Spotify in 2024. Royalties grew by 16% vs. 2023, and have nearly doubled since 2021,” Spotify said.
Some 60% of the royalties generated by Spanish artists came from indie artists or labels, well above the average on Spotify worldwide.
“Artists in Spain – both emerging and established – are building sustainable careers through streaming, and more are achieving success each year,” said Melanie Parejo, Head of Music for Southern and Eastern Europe at Spotify.
“Once again, we see the rise of Spanish-language music and the ability of local talent to generate income beyond our borders, confirming that streaming remains a driving force in the music industry.”
“Once again, we see the rise of Spanish-language music and the ability of local talent to generate income beyond our borders.”
Melanie Parejo, Spotify
Spotify says that about 850 million playlists on its platform include Spanish artists.
In both Italy and Spain, the number of artists earning above the €10,000, €50,000, and €100,000 thresholds has doubled since 2019, Spotify said.Music Business Worldwide
