Rema’s ‘Calm Down’ Raked in $4m From Just Spotify Music 

By Adeke Chukwuka

Spotify, the global online streaming platform, has announced that Nigeria’s emerging talent, Rema, has achieved a significant milestone with his hit single “Calm Down,” surpassing one billion streams on their platform.

Spotify’s Artiste and Label Partnerships Manager for West Africa, Victor Okpala, revealed that Rema’s hit single “Calm Down,” featuring Selena Gomez, has achieved one billion streams to join the Billions Club on Spotify.

Stating that it marks a significant milestone for Rema and the afrobeats genre, demonstrating the power of cross-cultural musical collaboration.

He mentioned Rema being among the top 10 most streamed afrobeats artists on Spotify, emphasizing his global influence and the genre’s impact on the international music stage. Okpala also stated that Spotify is committed to supporting afrobeats as it continues to gain substantial influence worldwide.

Going further, he reiterated the significance of reaching the billion-stream milestone on Spotify. He claims that this achievement showcases the immense popularity of “Calm Down” and Rema’s talent to create music that transcends cultural boundaries and connects with a wide-ranging audience.

Okpala also pointed out that Rema’s distinctive sound has propelled him onto the global music stage, with the song’s highest streams originating from the USA, India, Mexico, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.

Artists earn royalties when their music is streamed, and Spotify pays them an average of $0.003 – $0.005 per stream as of May 2022. This translates to 70% of the revenue going to the artist, while Spotify retains 30%.

Spotify’s average payout per stream ranges from $0.003 to $0.0084, but specific amounts vary by country. For instance, Portuguese listeners pay $0.0018 per stream, while US listeners pay $0.0039. Artist royalties are influenced by streaming volume and agreements with labels or distributors, leading to variations in earnings.

This means that on an average, an artist earns $0.004 per stream of a given song, culminating to a total of $4 for every 1,000 streams. In the same vein, for each Illinois stream, $4000 is generated. So, for a billion streams, we should be looking at an estimated figure of $4,000,000.

Following the calculation above, it could be said that Rema earned a total figure of around $4 million for his 1 billion streams on Spotify.

Although this might just be a rough assumption or estimation, it proves Rema earned a lot in millions from streams of his Calm Down song.

Okpala highlighted that “Calm Down” gained global popularity due to its captivating blend of afrobeats rhythms and Afro-fusion melodies, combined with Rema’s distinctive soulful vocals. The unexpected collaboration with Selena Gomez on an afrobeats track added to its unique appeal.