How much of what you’ve paid to streaming services really reaches the artists you love?
Streaming has become the dominant way people listen to music, with hundreds of millions of users paying monthly subscriptions.
But have you ever considered where your money actually goes – and how much of it reaches the artists* you love?
What if you had used that same budget to purchase and own the music you care about forever, while better supporting the artists?
This quiz helps you reflect on your listening habits and shows how things could look different if you used a tool like Crates to “stream what you’re curious about and buy what you love” – instead of paying streaming platforms and intermediaries.
* by artists we especially mean independent artists and labels
🎯 The Breakdown
Total spent on streaming: €720
Over 6 years at €10/month, you've spent €720 on streaming. But only a small fraction of that reaches the artists.
→ Artists received (~15%): €
After Spotify and intermediaries take their cut, artists receive on average only 15% of what you pay. Independent artists get even less! [1]
→ Spotify keeps (30%–50%): €
Spotify absorbs a large share of subscription revenue and often redirects royalty costs to affiliated labels and "artists", for its own benefit. [2]
→ Intermediaries: €
Major labels and middlemen get also a big slice of the pie.
🚀 If You Used Crates Instead
→ Owned music cost: €300
That covers 20 albums (~€10 each) and 100 tracks (~€1 each), which you now fully own - forever!
→ Artists would receive (85%–100%): €
Crates can help you shift nearly all of what you pay to the artists & labels efficiently — through artist websites, fair-trade record shops and even Bandcamp Fridays.
→ Crates cost (one-time): €40
€25 for the Supporter version, and let's say €15 for upgrades.
→ Leftover from your original budget: €380
That's money you could save or use to discover and purchase more music from artists you love — instead of passively paying to intermediaries.
Even better: we think it's fair a small part of it to be paid to tastemakers that sweat to dig up and recommend to you amazing music you'll love.