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 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.
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.