No. Streaming has actually made the music economy less top-heavy. In the CD era, the top 50 artists captured 25% of all U.S. sales. Today, they account for only 12% of streams on Spotify. That means more money is flowing to more artists than ever before, including independent artists and labels, which collectively generated about 50% of Spotify royalties in 2025.
In 2025, over 81,000 artists earned at least $10,000 from Spotify alone. Even more telling: The 10,000th-ranked artist on Spotify went from earning $34K in 2017 to $147K in 2025, more than 4x growth.
Here’s what some might find surprising: More than 80% of artists generating $1M+ on Spotify in 2025 did not have a Top-50 hit. You don’t need a chart-topper to build a million-dollar career.
Streaming has fundamentally changed the music ecosystem, lowering barriers to entry for artists of all levels and democratizing access to audio for listeners across the world. Artists no longer need to be superstars with access to big budgets or powerful gatekeepers to create, distribute, and amplify their music globally.