Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Drake, worth £260m, wants more money from Spotify for streaming milestones

The singer hit 75 billion streams on the platform and called for a ‘bonus’

Megan Graye
Friday 03 February 2023 11:16 GMT
Comments
Eminem with Drake on stage

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Drake thinks that musicians should get further bonuses for achieving streaming milestones.

On Thursday (2 February) the rapper reportedly hit 75 billion streams on Spotify – the highest number ever achieved.

Sharing the news to his Instagram story with a graphic detailing his achievement, Drake wrote: “We should get bonuses like athletes to motivate the future artists to be consistent and competitive.”

“[S]o feel free to send me a Lebron sized cheque. I have enough dinner plates,” he added in his caption.

Drake’s comments come in spite of the fact that he was named the highest earner on Spotify in 2021.

According to edm.com, the “Hotline Bling” singer profits the most out of any artist on the platform, taking $52.5m from 21.5 billion streams. The rapper is reportedly worth around $250m.

The Independent has contacted a representative of Drake for comment.

Drake is reportedly Spotify’s highest earner
Drake is reportedly Spotify’s highest earner (Getty Images)

His comments also come at a time when emerging artists have been critical of the lack of profit accessible from streaming, with services reportedly paying around $0.003 - $0.005 per stream.

That means it’s extremely difficult for anyone, other than enormous stars like Drake, to earn a living from their music.

Last year, Drake commissioned a diamond necklace made up of engagement rings he never proposed with.

The necklace, entitled “Previous Engagements” made by Alex Moss in New York, was created to honour “all the times he thought about it but never did”.

Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)

Sign up
Amazon Music logo

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 4 month free trial (3 months for non-Prime members)

Sign up

The piece contained a total of 42 engagement rings and 351.38 carats in diamonds.

“The most disturbing thing about the Drake necklace is that he named it. If your jewelry has its own album title your taxes are too low,” wrote one shocked commentator on Twitter at the time.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in