The most streamed song ever on Spotify is Blinding Lights by The Weeknd, with 3.3 billion streams. Only that one and Shape of You by Ed Sheeran has reached 3 billion streams, so they are the heaviest hitters with a wide margin.

Payment per stream varies a bit, but on average it is 0.004 cents per stream. That means Blinding Lights has earned about 13 million dollars on Spotify. The record company has of course taken a big share of that, while the rest would be split between the 5 writers. Thus the would end up with about $2 million each, before taxes. Certainly good sum of money, but not enough to live on for the rest of your life.

There are of course more streaming services, but they are all smaller than Spotify so there might be about the same amount coming from them if you add it all up.

I have a neighbor who co-wrote a hit song for one of the biggest boy bands in the 1990’s. After she had proven herself as a songwriter she got a record contract as a performer, and has had pretty good success. She still does the occasional record and tour, and is on TV sometimes.

She told me about it when we heard the boy band song on the radio in my backyard. That song has paid for everything in her life since it became a hit. All of her income from her own records and tours have gone into her retirement fund. The income took a hit when Spotify became a thing, but she still gets enough money to get by from streaming and YouTube. She lives a fairly normal middle class life (except she only works a 2-3 months every few years) based on two days of work she did in the mid 1990’s.

While she is a really nice person, it’s totally bizarre that someone could earn a lifetime of money in two days. I don’t think it’s possible to make that kind of mom today without record sales and 24 hour music TV, but for a few decades, there was serious bank to be made for those who had the skill and luck to get into the business.