17/06/2026
Something to note before your next conversation about streaming.
One artist in our wider network earned £412 from 500,000 streams last year. That's the actual number after all splits at £0.003 per stream. Another artist generated £8,000 in a single quarter from 400 dedicated Bandcamp fans. Same industry. Completely different revenue model.
This article is about music piracy in 2026. More specifically, why it's still growing despite widespread streaming adoption, and what the data says about where the income sits.
26% of UK consumers admitted that they pirated music in 2024. The same year, UK household streaming spend grew by around 13%. These things can happen at the same time because many people are simply doing both. They subscribe to streaming for convenience and download from other sources because they no longer trust platforms to keep their content available.
The article also covers why enforcement never keeps pace with piracy developments. The RIAA sued 35,000 Napster users. Piracy still increased. DRM was introduced across the industry. Piracy was adapted. Italy now runs automated blocking systems. The traffic then moved to mobile apps and messaging platforms that generate no trackable web visits.
What's useful for artists is the income model we breakdown. Roughly 40% from direct to fan sales, 30% from live and merch, 20% from sync, 10% from streaming. A 500 copy vinyl run at £25 generates £12,500. To earn that amount on Spotify would take 4.2 million streams.
What's your experience been with direct to fan versus streaming income? Has anything changed for you in the past year?