The Beatles released “Now and Then” 8 days ago, and the song went to number 1 everywhere.
In the UK, they’re listing it on their official charts as number 1 for the week. The same may be true next week for Billboard. Despite the feverish fans of Jung Kook constantly pressing BUY on iTunes, “Now and Then” has been a big hit.
So what’s going on over at Spotify? According to the site, the song has been streamed 17.6 million times. For a band like the Beatles, whose fans would rather have the record or download it than stream, 17 million sounds pretty good.
You’d think the group would be making a fortune, right? But according to Spotify’s revenue calculator, it’s not so much.
Grand total for 17.6 million streams? Drum roll please:
$42,000. That’s forty two thousand dollars. Not millon, or billion. Thousand!
For the Beatles, $42,000 is pocket change. It’s what Paul spends flying to the UK, what Ringo pays for dinner.
But that is the cold, hard reality of Spotify. There’s no money it. Once the Beatles split that money in four and pay taxes on it, and fees to various people, they will literally have enough for lunch and a movie.
And they’re THE BEATLES!
Imagine if they were just a little band, or a middling act whose song people like. This means those acts get chicken feed.
Now you know why Paul and Ringo are each on tour right now. Pass the hat!
By the way, the Beatles’ biggest streaming song is “Here Comes the Sun” with 1.2 billion streams. It was added to the service 8 years ago. Estimated earnings $3-$5 million, before taxes and fees. “Now and Then” has a ways to go!
