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This update, which is part of a new series of newsletters, examines how creators earn royalties from Apple Music and how these have developed over time.

We believe in the value of music and in fairly compensating creators for their work. Since we launched the iTunes Store in 2003, we've helped millions of artists and songwriters make a living from music. As the discussion on streaming royalties continues, we believe it is important to share our values. We believe in paying every designer the same price, that a piece has value and that designers should never have to pay for a presentation.

While other services pay some independent labels at a much lower rate than they pay for the big labels, we pay the same overall rate to all labels. This means that artists can distribute music however they want, knowing that Apple Music will pay the same price. Sign with a label or remain independent; we believe in the value of all music.

We pay the same overall rate for all compositions.

Without the songwriters, there would be no recordings. That's why we paid each publisher and licensor the same overall price in each country. It's also why we've invested millions to optimize publishing operations to ensure songwriters get paid as quickly as possible.

While the royalties for streaming services are calculated based on the sharing of streams, a game always has value. This value varies by subscription plan and country, but averaged $ 0,01 for individual Apple Music paid plans in 2020. This includes royalties from labels and publishers.

We do not pay a lower royalty rate in exchange for

Apple Music's global team of taste makers hand-curate 30 editorial playlists. These tasteful creators select music based on their merit, and we don't ask anyone to accept a lower royalty rate in exchange for being featured. The same goes for custom playlists and algorithmic recommendations from Apple Music.

As a result of our commitment to these values, Apple Music paid royalties to more than 5 million recording artists worldwide in 2020, more than one million more than in 2019. The number of artists whose catalogs have generated recording and publishing royalties of more than $ 1 million per year has grown by more than 120% since 2017, while the number of record artists whose catalogs have generated more than $ 50000 per year more than doubled.

Like others, we have looked at alternative royalty models. Our analysis showed that they would result in a limited redistribution of royalties with varying impact on artists. The rates per play would cease to be the same for each play of a song. But more importantly, the changes wouldn't increase what all creators earn from streaming. Instead, these changes would shift royalties to a small number of labels while providing less transparency to creators around the world.

At Apple Music, we're focused on artists and songwriters and finding new and innovative ways for all creators to make a living from music. With Apple Music, music fans around the world enjoy an uninterrupted ad-free experience knowing that their data remains private and used only to improve the overall music experience for them.