How much is 1 million streams on Apple Music? (2026, after your distributor's cut)
As of October 2026, 1 million Apple Music streams pay the rights holder about $6,200 to $10,000, $8,100 at the middle of the range. Apple's often quoted cent per stream would make it $10,000, but that figure includes publishing. After a 15% distributor cut you keep $5,270 to $8,500.
SOURCE: Apple Music letter to artists (2021), full text via Digital Music News · CHECKED 16 October 2026Streams to Money Calculator runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.
1 million Apple Music streams, step by step
| 1,000,000 streams on Apple Music | Low | Middle | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid to the rights holder (your distributor account) | $6,200 | $8,100 | $10,000 |
| You keep with a 0% distributor (DistroKid and other subscription plans) | $6,200 | $8,100 | $10,000 |
| You keep with a 9% cut (CD Baby) | $5,642 | $7,371 | $9,100 |
| You keep with a 15% cut (RouteNote Free, AWAL) | $5,270 | $6,885 | $8,500 |
| Your half of a 50/50 split, 0% distributor | $3,100 | $4,050 | $5,000 |
| Your half of a 50/50 split, 15% distributor | $2,635 | $3,443 | $4,250 |
Rate: $0.0062 to $0.0100 per stream ($6.20 to $10.00 per 1,000), paid to the rights holder, sources 1 2 3 4. Distributor cuts: DistroKid 1, CD Baby 1, RouteNote Free 1, AWAL 1. All checked 15 October 2026. The middle column is the middle of the range, not a prediction.
Is it really $10,000 per million?
The $10,000 figure comes from Apple's 2021 letter, which said plays "averaged $0.01 for Apple Music individual paid plans in 2020" (the letter). Three things pull a real statement below it: the cent includes publishing royalties, it is an average for individual plans only (Apple says the value varies by plan and country), and it is a 2020 figure. Independent master owners saw $6.2 per 1,000 in Duetti's 2024 data (Duetti), which is where our range starts.
So plan with $6,200 to $10,000 and treat the top of the range as the best case. A million Apple Music streams is still worth roughly twice a million on Spotify, $3,000 to $5,000.
What a million Apple Music streams leaves you
With a 0% distributor plan and no splits, the full $6,200 to $10,000 reaches you. Split the master 50/50 with a producer and each of you gets $3,100 to $5,000. Signed to a label? Multiply by your royalty rate. Songwriting royalties for the composition are paid separately, on top.
1 million Apple Music streams in other currencies
| Currency | Paid to the rights holder |
|---|---|
| US dollar | $6,200 to $10,000 |
| Euro | €5,532 to €8,922 |
| British pound | £4,680 to £7,549 |
| Indian rupee | ₹589,358 to ₹950,578 |
| South African rand | R 102,652 to R 165,568 |
| Brazilian real | R$31,353 to R$50,570 |
| Mexican peso | MX$114,837 to MX$185,221 |
| Canadian dollar | CA$8,808 to CA$14,207 |
| Australian dollar | A$8,971 to A$14,470 |
| Turkish lira | ₺306,389 to ₺494,176 |
| Indonesian rupiah | Rp 111,256,201 to Rp 179,445,485 |
| Philippine peso | ₱391,057 to ₱630,737 |
These convert the dollar figures (approx., ECB reference rate of 15 October 2026 (ECB)). They are not local pay rates: what a stream pays depends on where the listener is, and we only have sourced country figures for Spotify in the United States and Portugal. The ECB publishes no reference rate for the Nigerian naira, so there is no naira row. Pick a currency in the calculator above to convert your own result.
Other stream counts
Other counts: 100,000 streams on Apple Music and 1 million streams on Spotify. Every Apple Music rate, source and distributor cut is on the Apple Music royalties calculator. For songs on Spotify, the save rate calculator and the 1,000-stream rule checker read your Spotify for Artists numbers.
Questions artists ask
How much is 1 million streams on Apple Music?
About $6,200 to $10,000 to the rights holder, $8,100 at the middle of the range.
How much does Apple Music pay per million streams?
About $6,200 to $10,000, which is $6.20 to $10.00 per 1,000. Apple publishes no per-stream rate; its 2021 letter gave a 2020 average of $0.01 for individual paid plans, publishing included.
Is 1 million streams on Apple Music worth more than on Spotify?
Yes, roughly double: $6,200 to $10,000 against $3,000 to $5,000. See 1 million streams on Spotify.
How much is 1 million Apple Music streams in euros?
About €5,532 to €8,922, converted from the dollar range at the ECB reference rate of 15 October 2026.
Does Apple Music pay differently by country?
Apple says the value of a play varies by subscription plan and country, but we found no named, dated Apple Music figure for any single country, so the calculator uses the worldwide range.
Related
- How much is 100k streams on Apple Music? (2026, after your distributor's cut)
What 100,000 Apple Music streams pay in 2026: about $620 to $1,000 to the rights holder, against Spotify, after your distributor's cut. - Apple Music royalties calculator: pay per stream in 2026
What Apple Music pays per stream in 2026, why the penny figure is not what you get, and what you keep after your distributor. Sourced and dated. - How much is 1 million streams on Spotify? (2026, after your distributor's cut)
What 1 million Spotify streams pay in 2026: about $3,000 to $5,000 to the rights holder, after your distributor's cut and a 50/50 split. - What is a good Spotify save rate? Benchmarks by source
Work out your Spotify save rate per listener and per stream, and compare it with sourced third-party rules of thumb. Spotify publishes no official target. - Spotify 1,000-stream rule: which tracks get paid (threshold calculator)
Check if a song meets Spotify's rule of 1,000 streams in 12 months to earn royalties, how many streams it still needs, and the hidden listener minimum. - Streams to money calculator: what every platform pays per stream
What Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and 7 more pay per stream in 2026, after your distributor's cut and splits. Sourced, dated ranges. Free.
Sources
- Apple Music letter to artists (2021), full text via Digital Music News · checked 15 October 2026 · third-party source
- Duetti, 2024 Music Economics Report (2024 data, published 2025-01-23) · checked 15 October 2026 · third-party source
- LANDR royalty calculator (undated, page footer 2026) · checked 15 October 2026 · third-party source
- Ditto Music blog, How much does Apple Music pay per stream (2026-01-08) · checked 15 October 2026 · third-party source
- DistroKid pricing · checked 15 October 2026
- CD Baby: How much does CD Baby cost · checked 15 October 2026
- RouteNote Support: Free vs Premium distribution · checked 15 October 2026
- AWAL FAQ · checked 15 October 2026
- European Central Bank: euro foreign exchange reference rates (15 October 2026) · checked 16 October 2026
Found something out of date? Email info@groovegainer.com and we fix it, usually the same week. How we check our sources.