I’m back with my now-annual breakdown of Spotify’s Loud & Clear gaslight report! There’s so much to talk about this year, had to break it up into three parts.

Some highlights from pt 1:

• In 2025 the Spotify pie grew +$1B, while the average per-artist slice shrank (at least) -$217. Even if you made more money than the year before, you made less than you otherwise would have.

• Since 2022, the average slice has fallen by (at least) -$1,377, or -3.7%. Adjusted for inflation, that’s a decline of roughly -$5,100, or -12.4%, over just four years.

• It’s not just more mouths to feed. Discovery Mode, “bundling”, and the lack of price increases are all contributing to the decline in artist wages, and they’re all well within Spotify’s control.