After Reaching 75 Billion Streams on Spotify, Drake Proposes That Artists ‘Should Get Bonuses’

Drake, Her Loss artist and recent Apollo Theater headliner, said that artists ‘should get bonuses’ after hitting 75 billion Spotify streams.

Drake wants Spotify to pay up. The Her Loss co-rapper and recent Apollo Theater headliner recently made history by surpassing 75 billion streams on Spotify. In response to the news, the Champagne Papi fired shots at Spotify.

In a Instagram Stories update on Wednesday (February 1), Drizzy proposed that artists should get their monetary dues from the streaming platform.

“We should get bonuses like athletes to motivate the future artists to be consistent and competitive,” Drake wrote. “[S]o feel free to send me a Lebron sized cheque. I have enough dinner plates.”

As the most-streamed artist of the 2010s – and in Spotify history – the 6 God carries the Spotify title of having some of the most-played songs on the platform, including 2016’s “One Dance” and 2018’s “God’s Plan.” In 2021, EDM.com estimated that Drake’s streams made him a high earner, banking $52 million in Spotify royalties courtesy of 21.5 billion streams. His 2022 collaborative album with 21 Savage, Her Loss, crossed one billion streams in December, less than two months after debuting on November 4.

Drake’s suggestion is timely, as Universal Music Group and major streaming services are undergoing a new model that would pay artists fairly, per Financial Times. Spotify currently pays artists between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream on average, with 70 percent of revenue going towards artist/rights holders and 30 percent to Spotify. The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) have protested this inequity, with a list of demands titled ‘Justice At Spotify.’ The project currently has 28,000 signatures.

“The company behind the streaming platform continues to accrue value, yet music workers everywhere see little more than pennies in compensation for the work they make,” reads UMAW’s mission.