New study: classical masters would also have earned millions from music streaming

Beethoven would have earned US$8.9mil (RM37mil) thanks to the millions of listeners who streamed his famous 'Moonlight Sonata'. Photo: AFP

Music streaming services are often criticised for their systems of payment. Many artists complain about being paid a pittance by Spotify and others. But is it the same scenario for the big names in classical music? A new study looks at how much money Beethoven and Chopin would have earned from streaming, if they were still alive.

Many music lovers regularly turn to streaming platforms to listen to the works of classical composers like Vivaldi and Debussy. Now Leipzig's tourism board has looked into the revenue that would have been generated by these millions of listeners at the time these pieces were composed. They estimate that rights holders are remunerated with 0.0037 dollars per stream.