Apple Music Shows Transparency

According to The Wall Street Journal, Apple posted a letter to the music streaming service's artist dashboard disclosing how much it actually pays out per stream. This letter was sent directly to music labels and publishers after Spotify did the same thing last month.

Apple has done a great job of creating the image that it is a friend to the music publishing industry. This is thanks to its generous payouts to artists and a willingness to accept royalty increases. This letter has helped increase transparency and make sure artists understand the value of the deal they're getting from Apple Music.

In the letter, Apple disclosed that it pays out a penny per stream, which at face value may not sound like much, but it's double that of Spotify. The music industry has been demanding more payouts from streaming services because artists haven't made money from touring due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Apple is undoubtedly behind Spotify when it comes to the streaming wars, Spotify enjoys more than twice the number of paying subscribers. This move could help Apple Music gain more subscribers in the interim as listeners support businesses that fairly compensate the artists that they work with.