A proposed music subscription platform would bring full artist catalogs and subscriber-only content into one service. The idea combines on-demand listening with direct payments to musicians for exclusive material.
The case for a different model
Spotify remains the world’s largest streaming platform. Its playlists, curators and annual Spotify Wrapped can make switching services difficult for listeners who have built collections over years, including personal playlists such as a 2014 road-trip mix or a six-hour playlist featuring the Hamilton soundtrack.
Spotify also offers an AI (artificial intelligence) DJ and 15 hours of audiobooks each month, analyzes listening habits for machine learning, and has exclusive podcast deals involving Anything Goes with Emma Chamberlain and What Now? with Trevor Noah. The difficulty of leaving a service that stores personal collections has a parallel in users paying to retain Snapchat memories that had previously been stored without charge.
For artists, the proposal centers on streaming income. Its cited figures are:
- Taylor Swift earned approximately $103 million from Spotify streams in 2024.
- Estimated royalties of $0.003 to $0.005 per stream would produce $3,000 to $5,000 for one million streams.
- Spotify takes around 30% of streaming revenue, while the remaining 70% goes to the master rights holder. An artist’s share can depend on their label contract.
What existing fan subscriptions offer
OnlyFans provides a model for paid, subscriber-only creator content and additional purchases, including personalized videos. The proposed music service would add full artist catalogs, similar to Spotify’s on-demand offering.
Patreon already lets musicians charge fans a monthly fee for material such as exclusive songs, early releases and, in some cases, merchandise available only to subscribers. It also serves creators in podcasting, animation and education. Keeping a Patreon community active can require ongoing management and a steady supply of new material.
Rapper Ren, known for “Sick Boi” and “Hi Ren,” offers paying members guitar tutorials, a blog about his health journey, chat communities, preorder codes and unused music-video takes. Soul musician and songwriter Mel offers subscribers behind-the-scenes content, demos and an annual serenade.
