Rhapsody subscribers contribute $65 a year in royalties

Spotify, Yahoo, Vevo, Shazam and Rhapsody have all released their year-end data reports, with most highlighting the ‘Most Streamed’ acts, songs and albums both globally and via territory. However, an excerpt in US-based streaming service Rhapsody’s report reveals a lot more.

:: Chet Faker most streamed Australian act on Spotify

Whilst pointing out that the rise in global streaming has resulted in more royalty payments for rights holders, Rhapsody, who acquired Napster from Best Buy in 2011 said, “This year, Rhapsody will pay out about $65 in label royalties for a typical retail subscriber.”

Rhapsody have yet to launch in Australia, but with services in the US, Europe, UK, Germany and Brazil, this averaged figure taken from their 2 million paying subscribers globally, translates into 750 million in paid royalties - an average which doesn't do much for the platform's badgered reputation of late. In fact, a source knowledgeable of the streaming market has told TMN this average revenue is lower than that paid by popular services in Australia and in the US.

Elsewhere in the report, based on 10 million hours of music streams from this year so far, Rhapsody said 63% of Rhapsody and Napster members worldwide stream solely on their mobile device, with Brazil listed as the most mobile-friendly country with 85% of its members using mobile-only. Eminem is the most streamed artist in each of its serviced markets followed by Drake, Katy Perry, Beyoncé and Rihanna, while R&B and hip-hop continues to be the world’s most popular genre.