Spotify announced that the “Jimmy Cooks” rapper is the first artist to have 75 billion streams on their platform.
To no surprise, Drake is no stranger to reaching new milestones.
.@Drake has now surpassed 75 billion streams on Spotify across all credits. He is the first artist in history to hit this milestone.
— chart data (@chartdata) February 1, 2023
Drake announced the achievement on Instagram, saying that rather than plaques, he would prefer a check the size of LeBron James.
Incentives such as bonuses, he says, could change the industry for the better by inspiring the next generation of artists to work toward longevity.
Drake isn’t the first and most likely won’t be the last artist to voice their concerns about how streaming services can pay it forward.
In 2021, T-Pain shared a post on Twitter that appeared to show how many streams artists would need to garner to receive $1.
Just so you know…… pic.twitter.com/t8m3PerxT9
— T-Pain (@TPAIN) December 29, 2021
According to the post, Napster paid artists more per stream, with 53 plays per one-dollar payout, while YouTube Music came in last with 1,250 plays per one-dollar payout. According to the chart, collecting one dollar in royalties requires 78 streams for streaming giant TIDAL, 128 streams for Apple Music, 156 streams for Deezer, 249 streams for Amazon Music, 315 streams for Spotify, and 752 streams for Pandora.
While Drake wants a check the size of LeBron James, T-Pain previously suggested that artists consider creating their own streaming platform.
I see a lot of “well I guess I’ll use the best one” and not “we gotta make our own” keep in mind, most artists don’t even get the whole $1. I’m just letting the up and coming know what the real is. I worked for mine and there are tons of ways around this if you move right
— T-Pain (@TPAIN) December 29, 2021