Tunecore Artists Hit Record Revenue Mark

TuneCore artists earned $83 million in the first quarter of 2019, the company just announced. The total marks a 21% increase over the first quarter of 2018, and brings total distribution revenue to $1.5 billion, all of which was paid to TuneCore artists. Distribution income for artists reached $308 million in 2018, marking a 28% year-over-year increase.

Publishing administration royalties collected for TuneCore artists also grew 42% in 2018 as well as YouTube Monetization, which delivered significant new income for TuneCore artists, growing 48% over 2017.

The platform enables artists to distribute their music to over 150 digital stores and streaming services worldwide including iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Deezer, and Google Play and that reach helped make TuneCore independent artists a major factor influencing the growth of genres, markets and geographies.

Total streams and downloads of music by TuneCore’s 250,000 worldwide artists hit 199.3 billion in the past year, an 83% increase over 2017.

In 2018, the fastest-growing genres worldwide were:

• Heavy metal – 154% increase
• J-Pop – 133% increase
• R&B/Soul – 68% increase
• K-Pop – 58% increase
• World music – 57% increase
• Instrumental – 42% increase

In 2018, streaming growth varied worldwide:

• Africa – 146% growth
• Asia – 52% growth
• Oceania – 38% growth
• Europe – 35% growth
• South America – 32% growth
• North America – 31% growth