Apple Music is a popular streaming service developed by Apple that allows users to listen to over 90 million songs. It launched in 2015 and quickly gained millions of subscribers with its large music catalog and integration with Apple devices. While the basic subscription fee to access Apple Music’s content is well known, many artists and producers wonder what the full costs are to actually get their music hosted on the platform. This involves both one-time and recurring fees, covering everything from signup costs to royalties.
This article will provide an overview of the key costs involved in getting your music on Apple Music. It will cover the initial registration expenses, recurring annual fees, as well as royalty payouts and additional promotional costs. Tips for keeping costs low will also be provided. By the end you’ll have a solid understanding of the full financial commitment required to make your music available to Apple Music’s audience.
One-time Fees
There are a few key one-time fees to get your music on Apple Music:
The iTunes distribution fee is $9.99 per album to deliver your music to the iTunes Store and Apple Music catalogs (Source). This allows your music to be searched, played, and downloaded by Apple Music subscribers.
You’ll also need to pay any one-time fees charged by your digital music distributor. Distributors like CD Baby and TuneCore charge between $10-50 per album for distribution, though some like Routenote offer free distribution (Source).
Cover artwork design is another one-time cost, which can range from $50-500+ depending on the designer and complexity.
Recurring Fees
There are a few recurring fees to be aware of when distributing your music on Apple Music. One is the yearly distribution service fee. Major distributors like CD Baby, DistroKid, and TuneCore typically charge between $10-$50 per year to keep your music on digital streaming platforms like Apple Music.
You’ll also need to budget for annual publishing and licensing fees. Performing rights organizations like ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC collect public performance royalties on your behalf and charge yearly fees around $50 for basic membership. You’ll also need to pay mechanical licensing fees to songwriters through Harry Fox Agency or similar services.
Advances
An advance is an upfront payment given to an artist by a record label to fund an album’s recording and marketing costs. According to Soundplate, advances are essentially loans that need to be paid back by the artist through future royalties. The amount of an advance can vary greatly, from thousands to millions of dollars depending on the artist’s profile and negotiating leverage.
Advances need to be recouped by the label before the artist begins receiving royalty payments on an album. As explained by Unchained Music, recoupment means deducting all costs paid out through the advance from the artist’s share of royalties. For example, if an artist receives a $100,000 advance and their royalty rate is 15%, the label will keep 100% of royalties until $100,000 is paid back through the artist’s 15% share. Only after the full advance amount is recouped will the artist begin receiving royalty checks.
Royalties
Apple Music pays rights holders 52% of the revenue from each stream. This includes record labels and music publishers. The headline royalty rate is the same for all labels and compositions on the platform.
Apple has stated that the average per-stream rate for rights holders is $0.01. This means for every play, about 1 cent is earned in royalties. However, the actual per-stream rate can vary based on factors like an artist’s deal with their label and the territory where the stream occurred. According to recent estimates, the average per-stream rate ranges from $0.003 to $0.009 globally.
To calculate potential Apple Music royalties, you can multiply your estimated streams by the average per-stream rate. For example, 1 million streams would earn approximately $10,000 at the $0.01 per-stream rate. However, the actual payout depends on the splits in an artist’s contract and the territory breakdown of their streams.
Apple Music also offers a royalty calculator within Apple Music for Artists where rights holders can view their actual per-stream rates based on their streaming data. This provides the most accurate estimate compared to industry averages. Overall, Apple Music tends to pay slightly higher royalty rates than competitors like Spotify.
Sources:
Apple Music Insights: Royalties
How Much Does Apple Music Pay Per Stream in 2024
Marketing Costs
Marketing an artist’s music and building their brand requires significant investment. Record labels typically spend 10-20% of an artist’s earnings on marketing efforts.1 This includes paid advertising like social media ads, search engine marketing, YouTube video ads, and out-of-home advertising.
Labels also invest in radio promotions to get songs played, music videos to support singles, publicity campaigns, merchandising, and paying independent promoters to pitch the artist. The costs for an active promotional campaign can easily run $500,000 or more for an emerging artist’s album launch. The biggest superstar artists like Taylor Swift or Drake may have over $10 million allocated just for marketing an album release.
For independent artists trying to compete, paid advertising and promo are difficult to fund but essential. An artist submitting to streaming services should budget at least $1,000-$5,000 for initial marketing efforts to have a chance at being discovered by new fans.
Personnel
One of the biggest costs associated with making an album is paying for the personnel involved in the creative process. This includes producers, songwriters, studio musicians, recording engineers, and more. According to sources, the costs for personnel can vary greatly depending on the experience level and rates charged:
Producers often charge thousands of dollars per song to work on a major label release. Top producers may charge $75,000 or more for a high-profile project (https://blog.sonicbids.com/how-much-does-it-really-cost-to-make-an-album). Less established producers will charge less, with rates starting around $1,000-2,000 per song.
Hiring experienced songwriters can also be very expensive, with costs ranging from $5,000-25,000 or higher per song depending on their reputation and credits. Up-and-coming songwriters may charge only a few hundred dollars per song.
Studio musician rates start around $150-300 per hour, while top session players in cities like LA and Nashville can charge $500-1,000 per hour. Engineers cost $50-150 per hour or more.
In total, personnel costs often make up the largest portion of an album budget. Allow $15,000-50,000+ for personnel costs on a major label release with high-caliber talent.
Other Expenses
There are many miscellaneous costs associated with releasing an album that can quickly add up. Two of the biggest other expenses are legal fees and equipment costs.
Legal fees cover tasks like registering copyrights and trademarks, drafting contracts, and dealing with sample clearances. According to Quora, legal fees to formally copyright and release an album often range from $500-2000. Complex sampling and rights issues can drive costs even higher.
Equipment is another major expense. Top studios charge $50-150 per hour for use of their space and gear. Or if you buy your own equipment, costs can easily exceed $10,000 for high-end gear. Microphones, audio interfaces, MIDI controllers, instruments, and more all add up. Ongoing maintenance and eventual upgrades are also required over time, making equipment an ongoing investment.
Tips for Lowering Costs
There are some ways artists can reduce the overall costs associated with releasing music on platforms like Apple Music:
- Do-it-yourself (DIY) distribution through sites like CD Baby, Tunecore, or DistroKid can save on upfront distribution fees compared to using a label or third-party distributor. DIY sites charge flat fees around $10-50 per release for worldwide distribution.
- Negotiate better deals with distribution partners and studios. Shop around and compare terms to make sure you’re getting a competitive rate.
- Maximize royalty payouts by retaining ownership of your masters and compositions. This gives you a higher cut of royalties instead of splits with publishers/labels.
- Promote heavily to fans during pre-order and release windows. Amplify new releases through all owned channels like email lists, social media, and your website. This saves on marketing costs.
- Learn to master tracks yourself using affordable software like iZotope Ozone instead of paying for mastering engineers.
By being smart with deals, retaining rights, maximizing promotions, and taking on some tasks yourself, artists can reduce the total costs associated with releasing music digitally.
Summary
Getting your music on Apple Music can incur a variety of costs. The main expenses will likely be one-time fees like yearly distribution charges, recurring fees like commission rates, as well as variable costs like marketing and personnel. While exact costs will depend on your specific situation, most artists can expect to budget at least a few thousand dollars to release music professionally on Apple Music.
To manage your budget, research distribution companies to find affordable options for one-time and recurring fees. Consider starting with a single or EP release rather than a full album, to minimize upfront expenses. Leverage your existing fanbase and social media to market the release for free. For extra costs like publicity or radio promoters, carefully weigh the potential ROI. With some frugality and creativity, unsigned artists can minimize their out-of-pocket costs for an Apple Music release.