A new report from the Oxford Internet Institute and the University of Groningen captures this contradiction across five countries – Brazil, Chile, the Netherlands, Nigeria and South Korea.
Based on a survey of c. 1,200 musicians, the study finds that artists feel trapped in what researchers call a "streaming paradox": visibility has never been easier thanks to streaming, but meaningful income remains out of reach. Meanwhile, musicians say they face growing pressure to become content creators and audience managers, constantly posting, engaging and promoting, just to be seen.
Yet the study's most striking finding is how differently musicians in different countries experience these same pressures. In Nigeria, 83% of musicians said their careers had improved since streaming. In the Netherlands, just 14% said the same. There are also interesting differences between genres and generations. These differences suggest that culture, expectations, and economic context shape how artists navigate the platform era in fundamentally different ways.
Streaming income: key findings
77% of musicians surveyed earn less than €10,000 a year from music, and 83% are dissatisfied with the royalties they receive from streaming.
81% say streaming is important for their career — yet fewer than half say their situation has improved since streaming became dominant.
Low-income musicians are the most likely to call streaming "extremely important" (55%), while higher earners are more likely to say it's "not that important."
Almost a quarter of musicians (23%) spend more than half of all their working time on tasks like updating social media, planning tours or communicating with fans — rising to 30% in Chile.
69% of respondents said they now spend more time promoting their music online than they did a few years ago.
89% of musicians said they do not use AI or automation tools when interacting with fans online.
Of the five countries surveyed, Dutch artists are the most worried about the impact of AI-generated music flooding streaming platforms and competing with human-created art.
"Artists rely on digital platforms to be seen, to grow their audiences, and to stay relevant. Our report shows that while streaming and social media contribute very little to artists' actual income, the work they require is changing what it means to be a musician. These changes generate different reactions in different countries around the world," said Dr Robert Prey, Associate Professor of Digital Culture at the Oxford Internet Institute and co-author of the report.
Explore further findings from the survey and download a copy of the study, 'Musicians at Work in the Platform and AI Era', by Femke de Rijk and Dr Robert Prey publicly available from the OII website.
