Streaming Revenue by Country (2025 Data) | Dynamoi
Statistics•
Updated
Streaming Revenue by Country (2025 Data)
Geographic breakdown of streaming RPM from real royalty data. The UK pays $10+ per 1,000 streams. Some Asian markets pay under $0.20. Know where your revenue actually comes from.
Why Geography Matters for Streaming Revenue
A stream is not a stream is not a stream. Where your listener lives dramatically affects what that stream pays.
This isn't arbitrary. Streaming platforms set subscription prices based on local purchasing power. Spotify Premium costs $11.99/month in the US but $1.99/month in India. When the royalty pool for a market is smaller, per-stream payouts are proportionally lower.
The data below comes from 388,000+ royalty transactions across 80+ countries, representing actual distributor payouts from April 2023 through September 2025.
RPM by Region
Revenue per 1,000 streams varies roughly 50x between highest and lowest-paying regions:
Region
Avg RPM
% of Total Revenue
% of Total Streams
USA
$5.04
86.5%
60.3%
UK
$10.06
2.1%
1.3%
Western Europe
$4.50
4.5%
4.7%
Canada
$5.75
4.6%
3.6%
Australia/NZ
$3.70
0.7%
0.6%
Latin America
$0.86
0.3%
1.2%
Asia
$0.13
0.7%
18.6%
The UK's $10+ RPM is the highest in this dataset - nearly double the US rate. Meanwhile, Asian markets average $0.13 per thousand streams, requiring 75x more streams to generate equivalent revenue.
This isn't a judgment on market value - it reflects subscription pricing and ad rates in each territory. An artist popular in India may have millions of streams generating modest revenue, while an artist with UK/US concentration earns more from fewer plays.
Top 10 Countries by RPM
For artists with minimum 5,000 streams in each market, these countries pay the most per stream:
Country
RPM (per 1,000 streams)
United Kingdom
$10.06
United States
$5.04
Canada
$5.75
Switzerland
$5.01
Germany
$4.56
Netherlands
$4.23
France
$3.98
Australia
$3.70
Sweden
$3.65
Japan
$3.40
English-speaking markets and Northern/Western European countries dominate. These regions have mature streaming adoption, high Premium subscription rates, and strong ad markets for free-tier monetization.
Japan's presence is notable - a high-GDP market with significant streaming adoption, though catalog availability and licensing can be more complex than Western markets.
Bottom 10 Countries by RPM
These markets generate high volume but low per-stream revenue:
Practical Applications
Audit your geographic distribution. Your distributor dashboard shows streams and revenue by country. Calculate your effective RPM by dividing revenue by streams. If it's significantly below platform averages, your audience skews toward lower-RPM territories.
Set realistic revenue expectations. When projecting earnings from a campaign or release, account for your actual listener geography - not industry-average RPM figures.
Consider geography in playlist pitching. When reaching out to playlist curators, understand that placement on a high-RPM market playlist generates more revenue per stream than equivalent placement on an emerging-market playlist.
Don't abandon low-RPM markets. Building audience is valuable regardless of immediate revenue. Fans in any country attend shows, buy merch, share music, and contribute to algorithmic signals. The revenue gap may narrow over time.
Geographic revenue variation is a fundamental feature of streaming economics, not a bug to optimize away. Understanding it helps set expectations and make informed decisions - but shouldn't drive you to ignore any region where your music finds listeners.
Statistics•
Updated
Streaming Revenue by Country (2025 Data)
Geographic breakdown of streaming RPM from real royalty data. The UK pays $10+ per 1,000 streams. Some Asian markets pay under $0.20. Know where your revenue actually comes from.
Why Geography Matters for Streaming Revenue
A stream is not a stream is not a stream. Where your listener lives dramatically affects what that stream pays.
This isn't arbitrary. Streaming platforms set subscription prices based on local purchasing power. Spotify Premium costs $11.99/month in the US but $1.99/month in India. When the royalty pool for a market is smaller, per-stream payouts are proportionally lower.
The data below comes from 388,000+ royalty transactions across 80+ countries, representing actual distributor payouts from April 2023 through September 2025.
RPM by Region
Revenue per 1,000 streams varies roughly 50x between highest and lowest-paying regions:
Region
Avg RPM
% of Total Revenue
% of Total Streams
USA
$5.04
86.5%
60.3%
UK
$10.06
2.1%
1.3%
Western Europe
$4.50
4.5%
4.7%
Canada
$5.75
4.6%
3.6%
Australia/NZ
$3.70
0.7%
0.6%
Latin America
$0.86
0.3%
1.2%
Asia
$0.13
0.7%
18.6%
The UK's $10+ RPM is the highest in this dataset - nearly double the US rate. Meanwhile, Asian markets average $0.13 per thousand streams, requiring 75x more streams to generate equivalent revenue.
This isn't a judgment on market value - it reflects subscription pricing and ad rates in each territory. An artist popular in India may have millions of streams generating modest revenue, while an artist with UK/US concentration earns more from fewer plays.
Top 10 Countries by RPM
For artists with minimum 5,000 streams in each market, these countries pay the most per stream:
Country
RPM (per 1,000 streams)
United Kingdom
$10.06
United States
$5.04
Canada
$5.75
Switzerland
$5.01
Germany
$4.56
Netherlands
$4.23
France
$3.98
Australia
$3.70
Sweden
$3.65
Japan
$3.40
English-speaking markets and Northern/Western European countries dominate. These regions have mature streaming adoption, high Premium subscription rates, and strong ad markets for free-tier monetization.
Japan's presence is notable - a high-GDP market with significant streaming adoption, though catalog availability and licensing can be more complex than Western markets.
Bottom 10 Countries by RPM
These markets generate high volume but low per-stream revenue:
Practical Applications
Audit your geographic distribution. Your distributor dashboard shows streams and revenue by country. Calculate your effective RPM by dividing revenue by streams. If it's significantly below platform averages, your audience skews toward lower-RPM territories.
Set realistic revenue expectations. When projecting earnings from a campaign or release, account for your actual listener geography - not industry-average RPM figures.
Consider geography in playlist pitching. When reaching out to playlist curators, understand that placement on a high-RPM market playlist generates more revenue per stream than equivalent placement on an emerging-market playlist.
Don't abandon low-RPM markets. Building audience is valuable regardless of immediate revenue. Fans in any country attend shows, buy merch, share music, and contribute to algorithmic signals. The revenue gap may narrow over time.
Geographic revenue variation is a fundamental feature of streaming economics, not a bug to optimize away. Understanding it helps set expectations and make informed decisions - but shouldn't drive you to ignore any region where your music finds listeners.
Country
RPM (per 1,000 streams)
India
$0.08
Philippines
$0.11
Indonesia
$0.12
Vietnam
$0.14
Thailand
$0.18
Mexico
$0.45
Brazil
$0.62
Argentina
$0.35
Turkey
$0.28
South Africa
$0.52
India's $0.08 RPM means 1 million streams generate roughly $80. For context, that same million streams in the UK would generate $10,000+.
These aren't "bad" markets - they're massive growth opportunities with different economics. An artist building audience in India, Southeast Asia, or Latin America is investing in future value as these markets mature and subscription pricing rises.
The Concentration Problem
Most independent artists see extreme revenue concentration. In this dataset:
USA alone accounts for 86.5% of total revenue despite representing 60% of streams
The top 5 countries generate 98%+ of revenue
Asian markets contribute 18.6% of streams but only 0.7% of revenue
This concentration has strategic implications. An artist whose audience is 80% US/UK will have very different revenue expectations than one whose audience is 80% Southeast Asia - even with identical total stream counts.
Neither profile is wrong, but they require different mental models for projecting earnings and evaluating campaign ROI.
What This Means for Marketing
Geographic targeting in ad campaigns matters. If you're running Spotify or YouTube ads, listener geography directly affects the revenue those streams generate. $100 of ad spend driving UK streams produces more royalty revenue than $100 driving Indian streams - though the Indian campaign may deliver 10x more plays.
The calculus depends on your goals. Revenue optimization favors high-RPM markets. Audience building and algorithmic momentum might favor volume regardless of geography.
Playlist geography varies. Editorial playlists curated for specific markets (Today's Top Hits Brazil vs. Today's Top Hits US) deliver listeners from those geographies. Understanding where playlist placements come from helps explain revenue patterns.
Tour and merch economics differ from streaming. A large Brazilian fanbase may not generate proportional streaming revenue, but it can sell out venues and move merchandise. Streaming geography and commercial opportunity don't always align.
The Long View on Emerging Markets
RPM rates in developing markets have room to grow. As economies develop and streaming platforms gain subscribers:
Subscription prices typically increase (Spotify has raised prices in multiple markets)
Premium subscriber percentages rise as credit card adoption grows
Ad markets mature, improving free-tier monetization
India's streaming market is projected to grow 15-20% annually through the decade. An artist building audience there now is positioning for improved RPM rates later - though the timeline is uncertain.
The opposite dynamic exists in mature markets. US and UK RPMs may compress as platforms face margin pressure and subscription fatigue. The $10 UK RPM of today isn't guaranteed forever.
Country
RPM (per 1,000 streams)
India
$0.08
Philippines
$0.11
Indonesia
$0.12
Vietnam
$0.14
Thailand
$0.18
Mexico
$0.45
Brazil
$0.62
Argentina
$0.35
Turkey
$0.28
South Africa
$0.52
India's $0.08 RPM means 1 million streams generate roughly $80. For context, that same million streams in the UK would generate $10,000+.
These aren't "bad" markets - they're massive growth opportunities with different economics. An artist building audience in India, Southeast Asia, or Latin America is investing in future value as these markets mature and subscription pricing rises.
The Concentration Problem
Most independent artists see extreme revenue concentration. In this dataset:
USA alone accounts for 86.5% of total revenue despite representing 60% of streams
The top 5 countries generate 98%+ of revenue
Asian markets contribute 18.6% of streams but only 0.7% of revenue
This concentration has strategic implications. An artist whose audience is 80% US/UK will have very different revenue expectations than one whose audience is 80% Southeast Asia - even with identical total stream counts.
Neither profile is wrong, but they require different mental models for projecting earnings and evaluating campaign ROI.
What This Means for Marketing
Geographic targeting in ad campaigns matters. If you're running Spotify or YouTube ads, listener geography directly affects the revenue those streams generate. $100 of ad spend driving UK streams produces more royalty revenue than $100 driving Indian streams - though the Indian campaign may deliver 10x more plays.
The calculus depends on your goals. Revenue optimization favors high-RPM markets. Audience building and algorithmic momentum might favor volume regardless of geography.
Playlist geography varies. Editorial playlists curated for specific markets (Today's Top Hits Brazil vs. Today's Top Hits US) deliver listeners from those geographies. Understanding where playlist placements come from helps explain revenue patterns.
Tour and merch economics differ from streaming. A large Brazilian fanbase may not generate proportional streaming revenue, but it can sell out venues and move merchandise. Streaming geography and commercial opportunity don't always align.
The Long View on Emerging Markets
RPM rates in developing markets have room to grow. As economies develop and streaming platforms gain subscribers:
Subscription prices typically increase (Spotify has raised prices in multiple markets)
Premium subscriber percentages rise as credit card adoption grows
Ad markets mature, improving free-tier monetization
India's streaming market is projected to grow 15-20% annually through the decade. An artist building audience there now is positioning for improved RPM rates later - though the timeline is uncertain.
The opposite dynamic exists in mature markets. US and UK RPMs may compress as platforms face margin pressure and subscription fatigue. The $10 UK RPM of today isn't guaranteed forever.
