How much is 1 million streams on YouTube Music? (2026, after your distributor's cut)
As of October 2026, 1 million YouTube Music streams of your official audio pay the rights holder about $4,490 to $5,490, $4,990 at the middle of the range. YouTube publishes no per-stream rate. After a 15% distributor cut you keep $3,817 to $4,667. Views of other people's videos pay far less.
SOURCE: Duetti, 2024 Music Economics Report (2024 data, published 2025-01-23) · CHECKED 16 October 2026Streams to Money Calculator runs in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded.
1 million YouTube Music streams, step by step
| 1,000,000 streams on YouTube Music | Low | Middle | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid to the rights holder (your distributor account) | $4,490 | $4,990 | $5,490 |
| You keep with a 0% distributor (DistroKid and other subscription plans) | $4,490 | $4,990 | $5,490 |
| You keep with a 9% cut (CD Baby) | $4,086 | $4,541 | $4,996 |
| You keep with a 15% cut (RouteNote Free, AWAL) | $3,817 | $4,242 | $4,667 |
| Your half of a 50/50 split, 0% distributor | $2,245 | $2,495 | $2,745 |
| Your half of a 50/50 split, 15% distributor | $1,908 | $2,121 | $2,333 |
Rate: $0.0045 to $0.0055 per stream ($4.49 to $5.49 per 1,000), paid to the rights holder, sources 1 2. 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.
Streams on YouTube are three different things
"1 million streams on YouTube" can mean three kinds of play, and they pay very differently. Plays of your official audio in YouTube Music (the art track your distributor delivers) pay about $4,490 to $5,490 per million, the figure on this page. Views of other people's videos that use your song are claimed through Content ID and pay about $690 per million, from a 2022 figure (Content ID calculator). Ad money from videos on your own channel is a separate YouTube program that we do not cover here.
Check which of these lines each payment sits on in your distributor's statement before comparing your total with anyone else's.
Premium and ad-supported plays
A YouTube Music Premium subscriber's play is paid from subscription money; a play on the free app from ads. The two sources we use agree closely, $4.49 to $5.49 per 1,000, but neither splits the two, so an audience mostly on the free app may land below the range. Some distributors also charge a separate fee on YouTube money: TuneCore takes 20% 1.
1 million YouTube Music streams in other currencies
| Currency | Paid to the rights holder |
|---|---|
| US dollar | $4,490 to $5,490 |
| Euro | €4,006 to €4,898 |
| British pound | £3,390 to £4,144 |
| Indian rupee | ₹426,810 to ₹521,867 |
| South African rand | R 74,340 to R 90,897 |
| Brazilian real | R$22,706 to R$27,763 |
| Mexican peso | MX$83,164 to MX$101,686 |
| Canadian dollar | CA$6,379 to CA$7,800 |
| Australian dollar | A$6,497 to A$7,944 |
| Turkish lira | ₺221,885 to ₺271,303 |
| Indonesian rupiah | Rp 80,571,023 to Rp 98,515,571 |
| Philippine peso | ₱283,201 to ₱346,275 |
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: 1 million streams on Spotify. Every YouTube Music rate, source and distributor cut is on the YouTube 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 YouTube Music?
About $4,490 to $5,490 to the rights holder for plays of your official audio, before your distributor's cut.
How much is 1 million streams on YouTube?
It depends on what kind of play. Official audio in YouTube Music: about $4,490 to $5,490. Other people's videos using your song through Content ID: about $690. Your own channel's ad money is separate.
How much does YouTube pay for 1 million views of my song?
If the views are on other people's videos claimed through Content ID, about $690, before your distributor's YouTube fee. See the Content ID calculator.
Does YouTube Music pay more than Spotify?
Per stream, slightly: $4,490 to $5,490 per million against $3,000 to $5,000 on Spotify, using the averages we have.
How much is 1 million YouTube Music streams in rupees?
About ₹426,810 to ₹521,867, converted at the ECB reference rate of 15 October 2026. We found no sourced YouTube Music figure for listeners in India.
Related
- YouTube Music royalties calculator: pay per stream in 2026
What YouTube Music pays per stream in 2026 for official audio and art tracks, Premium against ad-supported plays, and what you keep. Sourced. - 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
- 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
- Producer Hive, streaming royalties breakdown (2022 rates, updated 2023-09-29) · checked 13 October 2026 · third-party source
- YouTube Help: Shorts monetization policies · checked 15 October 2026
- TuneCore home page · checked 15 October 2026
- TuneCore pricing · checked 15 October 2026
- 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.